Welcome back all my faithful followers! I know you've all been very patient as we wait for the sequel, and I am grateful for that as well as all your support. I never imagined my series would gain so many followers, words cannot express my gratitude. We have plenty of more characters to introduce in this story, both good and bad, and I plan to delve more into the lore of both Code Geass and Transformers (the Aligned Continuity, with small hints of other series thrown in).
Once again, I thank you for all your support and patience. I own nothing from the "Transformers" or "Code Geass", both belong to Hasbro and Sunrise respectively.
And with all that out of the way, let us finally begin "Code Prime – R2: Revolution"
The Renewed Revolution
It has been at least two weeks since the end of the conflict against the Autobots and Black Knights. With most of their forces destroyed, and what's left having gone into hiding, planet Earth's newest self-proclaimed rulers are dead set in making this world into their new home. After the Decepticons' victory over the Britannian Empire, their leader Megatron had sent out a call to all other Decepticons scattered across the galaxy to come to Earth and help build up his new empire. Already, his forces have already grown twice as big as they were before. What was once a small army with a single warship, was now a small fleet with only currently five or six smaller vessels at the moment, led by the enormous vessel that would serve as the flagship for the growing Decepticon fleet: The Nemesis.
Currently, the Nemesis hovered over what was once the Britannian capital known as Pendragon but has since been destroyed. At the moment, a new fortress was being constructed in its place, one that would be significantly larger and more imposing; but it looked as if construction had only just begun as worker-class Vehicons, along with several un-maned construction vehicles continued to work. Said construction vehicles included a dump truck, a wheel loader, a bulldozer, a massive load-shovel, a cargo crane, and a cement mixer truck. All of these vehicles had a near identical green and purple paintjob with a Decepticon insignia somewhere on their frame.
From the bridge of the Nemesis, observing the construction of his fortress to be was the Decepticon leader himself, Megatron. He continued to observe with a sinister smile as the door opened behind him, revealing two more Decepticons as well as a human who choose to aid the Decepticons in overthrowing his own empire.
"Lord Megatron." Starscream began as he, Soundwave, and Schneizel all bowed to their leader. "More Decepticon forces arrive each day, our army continues to grow while what's left of Britannia is thrown into a state of complete chaos." As Starscream explained the situation to their leader, Soundwave's visor lit up to show a world-map with several red dots all across the Britannian areas. "All areas formerly under Britannian rule have become warzones as the previously overthrown governments have begun insurgency."
"What of the state with the remaining superpowers?" Megatron asked.
"Once word got out of Pendragon's destruction, the E.U. wasted no time in attacking." Starscream reported. "Currently, they are engaged with Euro Britannia and have not yet made any attempts to attack the mainland."
"Schneizel, as the former Prime Minister of Britannia, do you believe we should we be concerned with Euro Britannia?" Megatron asked.
"I don't believe so, Lord Megatron." Schneizel responded. "Despite being a subject of the original Empire, they have made attempts to claim independence. So, I highly doubt they'll seek to avenge my father. That being said, perhaps we can negotiate with them for a more peaceful union between them and the Decepticon empire and avoid any possible bloodshed."
"Perhaps." Megatron didn't seem all that concerned at the moment. "What of the Chinese Federation?"
"At the moment, no movement has come from the remaining superpower, my lord." Starscream reported. "It could be possible that they are simply biding their time."
"If I may, Lord Megatron, the Chinese Federation is currently overseen by the High Eunuchs." Schneizel began. "I've had the pleasure of negotiating with a few of them, and I can safely say they'd be more inclined to join us as opposed to fighting against us."
"Noted." Megatron acknowledged. "But first, our priority is ensuring that Britannia is thoroughly uprooted."
"What of the Autobots or the remaining Black Knights, my lord?" Schneizel asked.
Starscream gave a scoff. "The Black Knights are all but wiped out at this point. Without their precious Zero, they are nothing. Even with the aid of the Autobots, Prime only has a handful of soldiers at his disposal while our forces continue to grow. Eventually, he'll be too outmatched."
"Maybe so, but we must not underestimate Optimus." Megatron stated. "But as I said, our first priority is removing this pitiful excuse for an empire off the face of the planet."
"Lord Megatron!" One Vehicon came running onto the bridge. "A fleet of Britannian warships is inbound westward!" As the Vehicon made this report, Soundwave sought to confirm it by accessing the Nemesis controls to bring up a screen to show a large fleet of at least ten Destroyers, seven Carrier Battleships, and a single Aircraft Carrier that appeared to be the flagship.
"It appears to be the Pacific fleet." Schneizel acknowledged. "They've actually organized a force relatively quicker than I'd expected."
"It's not just that, they appear to be led by the Knights of One, Three, Four, and Six, along with their own personal forces; making up a total of twenty-eight Knightmares!" The Vehicon reported. Soundwave zoomed on the screen to show that the pacific fleet has just launched a small army of airborne Knightmares, with the Galahad, Tristian, Mordred, and Palamedes in the lead. "The Knights of the Round and their forces will be here in minutes, with the land forces to be deployed from the fleet right after."
Starscream however snickered in amusement. "Foolish humans. I shall deploy the Seeker Armada."
"That won't be necessary Starscream." Megatron said with a grin. "I believe it's time to show Britannia a taste of true Decepticon power." He accessed the comns. "Onslaught, Mixmaster, I trust you can see the invaders by now. Assemble your teams and deal with these pests, will you?"
"Before your forces attack Lord Megatron, allow me to personally speak with them." Schneizel proposed. "Their resources could be instrumental to our cause."
"And if they decline?" Megatron questioned.
"Then we will crush them." Schneizel said with a menacing grin of his own.
The army of airborne Knightmares led by the Galahad advanced closer toward the construction site of the Decepticon fortress with the Nemesis hovering over it.
"All units, be on guard!" Bismarck, who currently wore an eyepatch over his left eye, advised the attack force. "This is nothing like facing a resistance group or anything of the sort! The Decepticons cannot be underestimated!"
"Understood." Anya Alstreim replied, but this was not truly Anya, evident by the red rings in her eyes. This was in fact Marianne currently in control of Anya's body.
"Rodger that." Gino acknowledged with a serious expression. Though he had every intention of helping out Bismarck and the others in fighting the Decepticons, he also had plans to sneak away when the fighting was over and find a way to meet up with the Black Knights and the Autobots and hope they let him join. In hindsight however, he probably should have gone with them back in Japan.
"Look at this. Look at this disgrace." Dorothea spat in disgust. "These wretched aliens dare to attack our home?! They dare to wipe it away and replace it with whatever monstrosity they're constructing?! They have no right to do this to us!"
"Reign it in, Ernst!" Bismarck scolded. "We must maintain our focus." He made contact with the command of the Pacific Fleet. "Lohmeyer, we are approaching the target. Do not engage the enemy until we do."
"Understood, Sir Waldstein." Alicia Lohmeyer, a noblewoman of Britannia with fair skin, light brown hair, blue eyes and a pair of glasses, acknowledged as she stood with all the officers at the command deck of the Pacific Fleet's Aircraft Carrier.
"Lady Lohmeyer, we are receiving a transmission! The Knights of the Round appear to be receiving it as well! It appears to be from Prince Schneizel!" One officer reported.
"Put it up." Lohmeyer ordered as an image appeared on the screen at the roof of the bridge, showing the image of Schneizel el Britannia, whom the Knights of the Round were also seeing.
"Hello Bismarck and company." Schneizel greeted. "And... oh, Alicia, this is a surprise. I never took you for the type to actually be a part of a battle."
"Our empire is in jeopardy, and I must do my part to ensure its survival and prosperity!" Alicia stated.
"I'm afraid that's quite out of the question…." Schneizel began.
"Will you wake up, Schneizel!" Gino exclaimed. "You can still come back to us! You don't have to work for Megatron!"
"Come back?" Schneizel shook his head with slight amusement. "I'm afraid you're quite mistaken Gino. I wasn't forced into Megatron's service, but rather I choose it."
"What?!" Gino exclaimed as he, the other Knights, and even Alicia from her ship, looked in absolute shock.
"The Decepticons certainly had the power to overthrow Britannia, even without my aid." Schneizel said. "However, my assistance made it easier to override the capital's defenses, all but cementing their victory."
"You… you betrayed us…?!" Anya exclaimed, with Marianne still in control. "You sold out to Megatron?!"
"Let me ask you all something." Schneizel began. "Why do people constantly fight each other? It's not just the conflicts that Britannia incited in the past, but all other ancient civilizations have known conflict; Ancient Greece, Egypt, and all other past empires have at least one major conflict set in their era. Why is that? It's because human instinct seeks conflict, it's not anybody's fault, that's just how it is. Under my father's rule, Britannia would have ultimately destroyed this planet and the human race with it. However, if there is a force out there that is far powerful than anything humanity has at its disposal, and if said force could establish order, then wouldn't it seem like the wisest course of action to join that force? That is what the Decepticons provide: order to a chaotic and self-destructive species. Under the rule of the Decepticons, there will be no conflict, no segregation among our race, all people of all origins shall be equal."
"You mean equally worthless, right?" Gino asked with a slight glare.
"It's not ideal, but it's the best chance humanity has at survival." Schneizel replied. "And you can all be a part of that as well. If you all stand down right now, submit to the rule of the Decepticons, I guarantee all your lives will be spared."
"HOW DARE YOU!?" They all heard Alicia scream. "You dare to betray your own empire?! Your own father?! Britannia is the light that will bring salvation to this Earth! We are the ones who have the right to rule it! Not these alien abominations!"
"We swore absolute loyalty to Charles Zi Britannia!" Bismarck stated in defiance.
"Agreed. We'll never recognize this damned usurper who would destroy everything we've worked so hard to build!" Dorothea added.
"Like how Britannia has attempted to do to every other nation in the world?" Schneizel asked skeptically.
"You have our answer Schneizel." Anya, with Marianne still in possession, answered. "The answer is no."
The traitorous Prince gave a small sigh as a disappointed look crossed his face. "So be it. I respected you all a great deal. Farwell."
He signed off, allowing the operation to resume. "This changes nothing!" Bismarck stated. "All units prepare to attack!"
"Wait… what's going on down there?" Gino asked as all Britannian units directed their attention toward the ground. All Vehicons have long since departed, leaving on the six construction vehicles that rolled closer toward the approaching sky bound Knightmares at a faster rate than one would expect for vehicles of their classification.
All six of them began to line up in a specific formation. At the front was the cement truck, with the large load-shovel right behind it. On the load-shovel's right was the cargo crane, with the bulldozer on the left. Behind the load-shovel's left was the dump truck, and on the right parallel to it was the wheel-loader. As they lined up, they all transformed, but not in a way that anyone would have expected. The vehicles didn't transform into robots, but rather into shapes that resembled crude and metallic body parts. Metal cords and trails connected to and from each of the smaller vehicles to the load-shovel into center as they began to merge together. The dump truck and wheel-loader took the form of legs just as the attaching cargo-crane and bulldozer took the form of arm-like appendages; while the cement truck merged with the load-shovel like a giant torso. Soon, the metallic behemoth began to stand up, taking the form of a hulking green humanoid machine with purple armor along its arms and chest, the Decepticon insignia clear on the center. Once it full stood up, a single black head emerged from the torso as its red optics shined brightly.
"Devastator, online!" The Construction Combiner announced.
Every Britannian pilot in the air, even the hardened Knights of the Round, looked beyond shocked, so much so that no words could accurately describe the looks on their faces save for circular eyes and dropped jaws; some even felt a new wetness in their pants.
"Did… did they just… combine?!" Gino exclaimed.
"What is that thing…?!" Dorothea stuttered, but this proved to be her undoing as Devastator's right hand transformed into a large drill, which he thrust straight at the Palamedes, that Dorothea was unable to block. "It got me… already…?!" Those would be her last words as the massive drill turned her Knightmare into scrap.
"All units! Evasive maneuvers!" Bismarck ordered as he, Marianne, and Gino were the first to fly away and gain some distance.
"You will not escape!" Devastator shouted as his chest-plate opened to reveal a large turbine-like device, which activated and created an enormous suction-force that had already began to pull in several of the other Knightmares.
"Pull out! Pull out!" One pilot exclaimed desperately as they tried to fly against the force, only to end up crashing into each other, further derailing their flight path.
"We can't…! We… AAAH!" Another pilot screamed as he, and ten others were pulled into the device, which acted something like an oversized garbage-disposal to slice, grind, and chop the Knightmares, and the pilots inside.
"Oh my god…!" Gino looked in absolute terror as they saw half their forces get mulched in one stroke; smoke exploding out through Devastator's back as he got rid of the chopped up and dusted remains of the Knightmares he 'swallowed' up. His device shut down as his chest-plate closed, turning to face the remaining Britannian forces.
"Who's next?" Devastator said with a smirk.
"What in the name of the first Emperor is that?!" Alicia exclaimed as she and the rest of the officers aboard the Pacific Fleet's Aircraft Carrier saw Devastator transform near the shore, and already engage the Knights of the Round and their forces.
"Ma'am! A Decepticon vessel approaches! It appears to be a small dropship!" One officer reported as they saw a small ship approach the fleet, no bigger than their smallest vessel.
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Shoot it down!" Alicia ordered.
Already, the front most ships fired a series of missiles at the incoming craft. However, two smaller vehicles flew in from around the dropship's flanking positions; one was a dark blue helicopter, the other was a dark brown jet. Both vehicles fired a series of rapid-fire Energon blasts to shoot down each and every missile before they made contact.
"What?!" Alicia exclaimed as she saw their attack fail.
The helicopter and jet met above the dropship as they revealed themselves to be Decepticons, but not just any Decepticons, they were two of the five-Con team known as the Combaticons, Vortex and Blast Off. The dropship's main door opened to reveal the remaining three; the big hulking green one on the left known as Brawl, the slightly smaller, light tannish brown colored one on the right was called Swindle, and their leader, that was a darker green and grey-colored Decepticon of slightly heavy build known as Onslaught.
"It's time to show these humans what real power looks like." Onslaught stated. "Combaticons, combine into Bruticus!"
All five leapt off the dropship as they transformed and began to combine themselves. Swindle and Brawl transformed into the right and left legs respectively just as Onslaught turned into the torso to link up with them. Vortex and Blast Off flew from the left and right sides to merge and transform into the arms just as a single head-unit merged from the torso, revealing the Combaticon Combiner that had just landed waist-deep into the water.
"Bruticus online!" Though Bruticus was only slightly smaller than Devastator, he was nonetheless imposing, which caused every single Britannian soldier in the entire Pacific Fleet to stop in their tracks as they saw the massive figure that was marching its way toward them.
"Open fire… OPEN FIRE!" Alicia screamed in fury. "ALL SHIPS! OPEN FIRE ON THAT MONSTROSITY!"
Every single warship in the fleet fired its missiles straight at Bruticus, but he seemed ready for even this as he threw out his left arm, the helicopter blades shifting downward slightly and spinning rapidly like a make-shift shield to block all the missiles with no damage to himself whatsoever.
"My turn." Bruticus stated as he shot his right arm forward to unleash a massive flame-thrower which had already engulfed the three ships in front of him. It took seconds before the ships exploded, allowing Bruticus to proceed forward, bashing and crushing all the ships that got close to him with little effort. He even used his helicopter-blades to slice through some of the vessels, as well as picked up one Carrier Battleship with both his hands and threw it toward another Carrier and two Destroyers, destroying all four in an instant. Already half the fleet had been destroyed.
"Deploy all Portmen!" One officer ordered. "Try and get underneath it!"
But it was too late, even if they had deployed any of their aquatic Knightmares, Bruticus had lifted his right arm up high before slamming it through the water and onto the ocean floor, unleashing a Sonic Pain Wave Attack that sent a tremor to obliterate all the Knightmares, carving a line through the ocean itself and obliterating five more vessels.
"Is that all you got?!" Bruticus challenged as he picked up another Destroyer ship and lifted it over his head to rip it in half and throw one half at another Destroyer and the final carrier, taking down both with destructive results.
"Our entire fleet is lost!" One officer exclaimed as the only vessel that remained at this point was the lead Aircraft Carrier. "We have to pull back! Lady Lohmeyer, we must retreat!"
However, Alicia didn't appear to process these distressed cries from her men as she only looked in pure shock and fear at what had just happened. The Britannian Navy was one of the most powerful branches of the empire's military, a true symbol of the might of Britannia. And yet… it had fallen apart in a time-span of five minutes.
"This… this can't be…. No… we can't…" Alicia stuttered only for her and the entire crew to trip and fall as the entire ship shook. They looked in clear terror to see the source of the shaking came from Bruticus himself who had climbed up onto the Aircraft Carrier and walked along its deck.
Several soldiers and smaller turrets tried with futility to stop his advance by shooting at the massive Combiner, but it didn't even slow him down as he made his way to the command tower aboard the ship. He glanced directly into the window of the bridge to see the terrified faces of Alicia and her entire crew.
"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" Bruticus sang as he aimed his flame-thrower.
"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! WE'RE BRITANNIAN! YOU CAN'T…!" Alicia screamed her final words a Bruticus unleashed the deadly inferno to consume all human life in the control center before the whole thing exploded.
"No way… that was the fleet!" Gino exclaimed as he flew above to dodge Devastator's swing. And it wasn't just the fleet, the Knights and their forces were severely loosing as well as most of their personal forces had already been lost, leaving only a select few with Gino, Marianne, and Bismarck left.
Marianne led the remaining flying Knightmares straight for Devastator as they fired all their missiles, with the Mordred firing its hadron cannons at the giant. Though the attacks hit, Devastator didn't appear the least bit affected.
"Heh, tickled." Devastator mocked before swinging his right arm with such speed that even though Marianne was able to pull up with the Mordred, her escorts weren't so lucky as they were destroyed in an instant.
"Hey! Over here!" Gino pulled out the Tristian's MVS blades and shot directly at enormous Combiner's head, but Devastator reacted too quickly as he thrusted his drill-hand directly at the Tristian, who not only tried to pull up his blades, but even activated the Blaze Luminous system at full power to try and shield himself. But Devastator's drill all but obliterated the defenses and sent the Tristian falling and crashing straight toward the ground, leaving a trail as the Knightmare skidded to an inoperable halt.
"Vile monstrosity!" Bismarck exclaimed as he threw off his eye-patch, revealing the Geass emblem in his left eye. "I swore to fight for this empire till my last, and I will not be bested by something like you!" The Galahad drew its massive MVS and shot toward Devastator, who attempted to thrust its drill-arm at him, only for Bismarck to fly over and around to slice at Devastator's face before flying past him. This didn't damage Devastator that much, but it did annoy him.
"Human pest." The Combiner stated as he tried to reach out for the Galahad, only to see the Knightmare fly above his arm, slash at it repeatedly before flying past him.
Marianne was about to move in and attack when the Galahad blocked the Mordred's path. "My lady, please. Allow me to handle this."
"Very well, he's all yours." Marianne flew back as she continued to watch the Galahad face off against Devastator. 'Very few have actually managed to survive Bismarck while he uses his Geass, and the only one to ever trip him up with it was that wretched Optimus Prime. But I'm willing to bet this machine isn't as smart as he is.'
The Galahad flew under Devastator to try and slash at his legs, but when the Constructicon Combiner lifted his right foot to stomp on him, Bismarck saw it coming with his Geass and flew away to fly behind Devastator and slice at his back before flying above him.
"Annoying bug!" Devastator exclaimed as he was growing more and more irritated.
"This is what you get for underestimating us humans." Bismarck said with a smirk as he flew on the attack, confident in his own abilities.
Back on the Nemesis' bridge, Megatron only looked more amused than before as he saw the fight play out. "So, V.V. did indeed grant a Geass to the Knight of One. The ability to see the future must be quite an extraordinary gift." A sinister smirk fell on the Decepticon leader's face. "Unfortunately for him, we've managed to develop our own counter." He glanced toward Soundwave, who nodded as his visor lit up to show he was sending a binary signal wirelessly toward Devastator, issuing a command.
Devastator missed with his drill-slice again as Bismarck flew above him. However, his frustration gave way to understanding as he received Soundwave's message. "Acknowledged. Activating Geass Canceller."
Both of Devastator's optics turned from red to green as a bright green symbol that looked like an upside-down Geass emblem lit up. From Devastator's point of view, his targeting system locked onto the Galahad as he fired a green energy beam from his optics that Bismarck was unable to avoid.
"What?!" Bismarck exclaimed as the Galahad was struck, and Bismarck inside was engulfed in a brief flash of green light. With that, the red Geass emblem in his left eye had vanished. The power was still present, but it had been deactivated, probably for the first time in years.
"No… what… why can't…." Tried as he might, Bismarck was no longer able to see the future. "I can't see… how can…?" Suddenly his whole Knightmare shook violently as Devastator had grabbed the Galahad in its left hand.
"Bismarck!" Marianne tried to fly in and help.
"No! Stay back!" He shouted, daring not to speak her name less Megatron find out. "They neutralized my power! I can't see!"
With Anya's eyes, her pupils shrunk as Marianne couldn't believe what she just heard. 'They can… negate a Geass…!? I heard the Order was developing it but… I never thought that…'
"You must live!" Bismarck exclaimed as Devastator began to squeeze. "You cannot allow them to succeed! You must…!" He was already being crushed by the compacting metal as Devastator squeezed harder.
"All Hail Megatron!" Devastator exclaimed as he finally crushed the Galahad.
"I failed you… Lady Marianne!" Those were Bismarck's last words before he was completely crushed within Devastator's grip.
And with that, Marianne was the only remaining Britannian pilot left. They had assembled a large force with some of their strongest pilots and most of their navy, but the Decepticons crushed it in less than an hour. Everything they've worked so hard to build… was it really all about to go up in flames…?
Marianne's state of shock had left her vulnerable for Devastator to smack the Mordred out of the air, its heavy armor taking most of the impact as it crashed onto the ground, a short distance away from the inoperable Tristian as Gino had already climbed out.
"Anya!" Gino exclaimed as he ran toward the ruined Knightmare to try and help his fellow Knight. He manually opened the cockpit, which could only open slightly as it was too badly damaged, but it was just enough to pull out Anya's body which Marianne was still controlling.
However, before they could do anything else, they heard the soaring sounds of fighter jets as Starscream and several Seeker Vehicons flew down in their jet modes before transforming to land on the ground and point their Energon blasters at the pair, all save for the smirking head of the Seekers.
"Well, well, look what we have here." Starscream snickered. "Probably the only two survivors of the Knights of the Round?" He mocked as Gino and Anya both glared. "What was it you've always said about Britannia being the most powerful? What's that, I'm afraid I cannot hear you over the sound of your humiliating defeat and the screams of your now dead comrades!" Starscream laughed.
"Why you…!" Gino was about to lash out, but he felt his arm being grabbed as 'Anya' looked at him with a serious expression.
"Maybe we should play along for now, at least till we get a chance to find a way out."
"What?! Anya?! You can't…!"
"Gino, for once in your life, think!" 'Anya' scolded, much to Gino's surprise. "Our forces have been wiped out, our Knightmares don't work, there's nothing we can do. All we can do right now, is play along and hope an opportunity presents itself, unless you want to get gunned down right here and now."
Gino looked toward Anya in confusion. He never thought she was the type to come up with something like this. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was talking to a completley different person. But, at the same time, he knew she was right. They can't do anything else besides submit and hope they get a chance to escape soon.
'Damn, I should have gone with Kallen back in Japan.' Gino thought with a scowl before he lowered himself to his knees along with 'Anya'. "We surrender and submit ourselves to the Decepticons."
"Wise choice." Starscream smirked.
Back on the bridge of the Nemesis, Megatron gave a slight laugh as he had watched the skirmish come to an end alongside his silent cohort, Soundwave.
"Well, that was certainly entertaining." The Decepticon leader mused. "Soundwave, begin organizing our forces. Have most of them concentrated under my command to lead the conquest of the main continent; and deploy all remaining units to the Britannian areas. I'll leave the organization of them, and any new contacts that arrive, entirely to you. I trust you can handle that?"
Soundwave nodded in confirmation.
"Good." Megatron smiled evilly. "Earth is ours now, we shall prove that by wiping Britannia off the map. Humankind has no idea, what lies ahead for them."
Unknown Location – Geass Order Headquarters
"What… what is this place…?" General Bartley exclaimed as he and the rest of the scientists in Code R, including Joseph Fenette, stood in front of a Thought Elevator, with Shockwave and Thundercracker, along with V.V., standing in front of them.
"This is the source of the power that you and Clovis were studying, General Bartley." Shockwave answered. "You attempted to harness C.C.'s power for your late prince in an attempt to secure him on the throne, unaware of what you were tampering with."
"Seeing how you've worked closely with Geass, you and your team will be working with us from now on." V.V. added. "You're really the only logical choice."
"I may be only here part-time." Thundercracker said to Shockwave specifically. "Or remotely. I'm still a Seeker and Lord Megatron may have plans for me, as well as Knock Out."
"Logical." Shockwave nodded in understanding before turning to the human scientists in front of him. "Though we have sufficient personnel who can attribute to our studies here."
Before Bartley could ask who he was referring to, a Groundbridge portal opened up behind him as Knock Out's vehicle mode drove in and toward the head Scientist. "We're back and we brought the guy you were looking for. A real basket-case this guy."
Knock Out's doors opened to reveal two men. One was a bald, dark skinned, well-built man wearing a dark suit which bore the insignia of the Decepticons on its chest, along with a pair of prosthetic red eyes. The second was a Caucasian male with white hair with a white lab coat, a robotic right arm, and his entire forehead appeared to be mechanical. Bartley recognized both of them.
"Colonel Madd…" He looked at the man with prosthetic eyes. "You… you're alive?! I heard you died in Battle…"
"Well, not completely dead." Madd said. "I did loose both my eyes and most of my insides, but the Emperor and V.V. found me and brought me here. I've been with the Geass Order ever since."
The shocked Bartley looked toward the other man. "Doc… Doctor Arkeville…! You…. You were imprisoned in the homeland's most secure asylum! You were deemed insane!"
Arkeville gave a maniacal chuckle. "Yeah, they did. But I got a get-out-of-the-nuthouse-free card thanks to the Cons when they took down the Emperor."
"Madd has been instrumental to our Order for many years." V.V. explained. "And despite his mental instability, Arkeville was widely regarded as the greatest mind the Empire has ever produced."
"Already, I was able to develop a Geass Canceller." Shockwave stated. "But, of course with all your assistance, and further time, tremendous advances in research is inevitable. Thundercracker and Knock Out will be working between scientific endeavors and military operations; but every single one of you here will be confined to the Geass Order with myself, and everything you create will be for the purpose of furthering the Decepticon cause."
Bartley didn't even bother to hide his fear, as did the rest of the scientists, particularly Joseph Fenette as he held in his pocket the locket that contained a photo of his wife and daughter.
Not long after the failed insurgence conducted by the Knights of the Round and the Pacific Fleet, the Decepticons began their campaign to completely uproot the remnants of the Britannia Empire. The Constructicons remained at the capital of the city that would be soon named New Kaon to finish construction along with the fortress that would serve their leader: Darkmount.
Megatron personally led the conquest of the Britannian homeland; with the intelligence of Soundwave, Onslaught, and Schneizel, as well as the raw power of the Decepticon forces; air superiority being led by Starscream and the Seekers, and the additional force of Bruticus and all other ground based Decepticons, the entire continent had been conquered in a timespan of two weeks with little resistance. With the death of the Emperor and most of the Imperial Family and Knights of the Round either captured or killed, there was no real leadership as the Empire fell into chaos. Some nobles and other royals attempted to escape into the colonized Areas that Britannia had conquered, but this only served the Decepticons even greater as it furthered divided their forces, and the Areas were already facing insurrections themselves from the natives of the Areas. More and more Decepticons arrived each day as Soundwave and Megatron helped to coordinate and disperse them properly to each and every Area to see to its downfall.
Area 18
Starscream led the Seeker armada alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp across the desert, laying down fire of Energon blasters and missiles onto a line of Britannian Sutherlands, resulting in their complete obliteration. This gave way to Middle Eastern rebels and resistance groups to drive in via all-terrain vehicles with guns and turrets to push even further.
At the back of the failing Britannian military line, guarded by several other Sutherlands, was the mobile base piloted by the current Viceroy of Area 18 appointed after Cornelia's conquest: Duke Calares. Though that may not be the case for long.
"The entire northern unit has been wiped out!" One panicking officer reported.
"We've lost contact with the capital! Insurrection groups have taken the city!"
"Keep fighting!" Calares exclaimed. "We're servants of Britannia! We will not fall!"
"Lord Calares, incoming enemy unit!"
"What?!" He looked at the screen to see a single fighter jet of purple and teal-colored variety, with a Decepticon insignia on its wing. "Concentrate all fire power on that unit! Shoot it down!"
But it was too late, the Seeker had fired a total of four missiles that shot out even faster than anyone could hope to track. Calares didn't have time to scream as the missiles hit the mobile base, destroying it along with the guarding Sutherlands.
Once that was all done, the Seeker in question flew back to rendezvous with Starscream and his team, along with other Seeker Vehicons and the leadership of the Middle Eastern rebels. She transformed to reveal herself a female Seeker with similar build to Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp; only with her paintjob being that of purple and teal.
"Ah, Slipstream. I trust you were successful." Starscream said with a smile.
"Calares is dead." Slipstream smirked. "And with him, Area 18 has fallen."
This resulted in cheers from all the rebels. "Thank you!" Their leader said to the Decepticons. "You have freed us!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say 'free'." Slipstream's smirk only grew. "More like… under new management." She fired an Energon blast from her arm to kill the leader of the resistance, with the other Seekers following suit against the remaining rebels.
Area 6
The state of the Amazon Jungle could only be described as that of a warzone as a horde of Insecticons either flew down to pelt Britannian Knightmares and infantry with laser fire, or charged straight through the jungle, bashing away every try and living creature they came across to rip and tear the Britannian forces apart with their claws and teeth.
Among those flying appeared to be a giant red metallic insect resembling something of an oversized ladybug before she transformed on the ground in front of a pair of Sutherlands and revealed herself to be the female Insecticon known as Glowstrike. She opened fire with a series of Energon blasts from her palms to obliterate the Knightmares. Along her right, coming out of the jungle was a massive mechanical scorpion with an orange-colored paintjob. He lunged at an incoming Sutherland before thrusting his tail into the cockpit to kill the pilot inside before transforming to reveal himself to be Scorponok. At the same time, a massive robotic Rhinoceros Beatle, flew toward a trio of Sutherlands before transforming to reveal himself as another Insecticon by the name of Saberhorn.
"Tally ho!" Saberhorn stated as he drew a pair of swords to cut down one Sutherland before using both to block the Slash Harkens of the remaining two before coming in to cut down both with relative ease.
Meanwhile, at the military base within the center of the jungle, all the officers were desperately trying to control the situation.
"South Brigade lost!"
"Enemies inclosing!"
"Our forces are down to ten percent!"
At the Command Chair sat a middle-aged woman with pinkish hair that strongly resembled Euphemia and Cornelia. She sat with a raged-filled scowl on her face as all she could get was how much of a losing battle this was.
"Hold your ground!" She exclaimed. "We will not…!"
However, she was interrupted by the sound of a drilling-like noise coming from above before the whole roof collapsed. When the dust settled, most of the personnel inside were dead, save for the woman in command as she felt debris pin her broken body to the ground, the sunlight from outside beaming down to blind her somewhat as a metallic figure loomed over her.
"Victoria Li Britannia." The figure addressed. "Consort to the late Charels Zi Britannia, and the mother of Cornelia and Euphemia."
The figure speaking was none other than Airachnid, who had undergone quite a change. Her spider-legs were all repaired, but her right face was covered with a metallic patch, and her whole right arm was replaced with a new one that had a large hook-like appendage for a hand.
"You know, your daughters were quite a pain for me, both figuratively and literally." Airachnid said with a scowl as she loomed over Victoria. "You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?"
Victoria scowled. "Go to hell, Decepticon!"
"You first." The disfigured Spider-Con said with a hiss before she slashed with her hook to butcher Victoria, ending her life in literal bloody fashion.
"My, how ruthless." Airachnid looked up to see Saberhorn, Glowstrike, and Scorponok standing around the hole she had made. "Not very sporting, but ruthless." Saberhorn said as Airachnid climbed out.
"It's done. Area 6 has fallen." Airachnid said before walking away as the her fellow Insecticons looked toward her with concern.
"She's growing more reckless and unstable every day." Glowstrike stated. "Honestly, it's a miracle she hasn't gone rogue again."
"She's driven by revenge, which I can personally respect." Scorponok acknowledged.
"I certainly hope she finds who she's looking for." Saberhorn said. "It may lead us to these Black Knights I've heard so much about. They may actually prove to be a challenge."
Area 9
It may be a literal uphill battle against these Decepticons as they pushed up the mountain against the Britannian Knightmares suited for this terrain, but this particular group wouldn't have it any other way. A black police car in the lead shot forward as it transformed to reveal the Decepticon Barricade who punched down one Sutherland before lifting the one next to it and throwing it down the slope to fall down the mountain's side.
"I punched your hole! Squadron X, move in!" Barricade ordered his team.
Four ground vehicles shot their way up the mountain, past the hole that Barricade had punched through and into the inner most defenses of the base built into the mountain. Two of these vehicles appeared to be Cybertronian tanks, one was dark blue and the other was a vibrant light purple. In the middle was a light blue excavator, and along the side was a fast-moving anti-aircraft tank. As they literally pushed and blasted their way their way through the Knightmares and reached the center of the base, they transformed to reveal themselves as the hulking Decepticons known as Quake, Overload, Demolishor, and Groundpounder.
"Time to bring the heat." Groundpounder stated as his fist lit on fire before throwing out a punch to demolish a group of three Sutherlands in one hit. Quake fired with a series of explosive Energon shotgun-like blast to take down four more incoming Sutherlands while Overload casually walked up to a group of five Sutherlands that shot at him, but the bullets did little to damage his body.
"Please, please, keep your rousing applause until after the show is complete." Overload said somewhat dramatically before rushing the Sutherlands to crush them with only a series of punches. Demolishor's shoulders fired a series of rapid-fire Energon blasts that tore through six enemy Sutherlands like tissue paper.
Seeing how they stood now chance of winning, the remaining Britannian personnel had already evacuated to air-transport and were ready to leave, only to be gunned down from the sky by an incoming helicopter. Three of them were already shot down, with the last one about to escape, but the helicopter transformed to reveal itself as the Decepticon Blackout, who fell above the transport to crush it over his enormous weight before landing on his two feet.
Once these five were finished demolishing the Britannian forces, Barricade joined up with his team, alongside a small fork-lift that transformed into an elderly looking Mini-Con.
"Ugh, ya bums, that was six seconds away from a record." Headlock criticized. "Work harder!"
Barricade shook his head with an annoyed sigh as he accessed the comns. "Ground forces neutralized, take down the command center." He said as he glanced toward the top of a nearby mountain.
Inside the base of said mountain, in a familiar situation, all the officers were panicking as the twin Britannian princes Castor and Pollux Rui Britannia tried to get command established.
"All our forces have been wiped out!"
"Ready our Knightmares!" Castor ordered.
"Your highness! You can't seriously think about going out there?!"
"Our course we're serious!" Pollux exclaimed. "If we're going down! We're going down fighting!"
However, the roof shook before it was torn off completely to reveal two large Decepticons who used their strength to rip off the entire side of the mountain top to glare at the Britannians in question. One Decepticon had a smaller build with tan-colored metal and a cold emotionless face that was light purple; while the other was a massive grey-green cyclops-like Decepticon, evident by his single red optic.
"Castor and Pollux Rui Britannia." Blitzwing said in a cold emotionless voice before his face shifted to reveal a new red one with a V-shaped visor before speaking in a harsher tone. "Your forces are torn to pieces! If you don't wish to join them, you'll keep your mouth shut!" His face changed yet against to reveal a black face with a more chaotic expression. "Aw, isn't that cute? They're twins!"
"What do you want from us?!" Castor questioned.
"Our master demands your presence." Lugnut stated. "He knows of your Geass abilities granted by V.V., which is why he has ordered us to capture you."
That caused the twins to look in surprise as their respective Geass' activated to reveal emblems in both their eyes.
"You are to be detained alive." Blitzwing spoke in his emotionless tone again. "I'd advise you both to cooperate. Now put your hands over your heads."
Seeing as they had no alternative, Castor and Pollux raised their hands in defeat. "We surrender." Pollux resigned.
"For the glory of Megatron!" Lugnut shouted to the heavens.
Area 15
This colonized area consisted of a series of small islands, which appeared to be guarded by a series of Britannian battleships, albeit small ones as most of the Pacific Fleet had been wiped out after the failed attack on Megatron, but it still seemed a considerable defense with a series of Portland Knightmares patrolling underwater.
"No enemies detected yet, my lady." One officer at the command ship told the oldest of the Imperial consorts, Anticlea eu Britannia, who looked about as old as the late Charles was, but her eyes still carried a resisting fire.
"Keep your eyes peeled." Anticlea ordered. "Most of our Empire has fallen, but I will not let this Area become the next target of Decepticon conquest!"
"My lady, one our vessels been taken down!"
"What?!" She exclaimed as they saw the furthest ship beginning to sink. "What happened?! Are we under attack?!"
"My Lady! There's something down here!" One of the Portman pilots exclaimed over the comns. "It's moving fast…" It cut off to static.
"I can't see it…"
"What's going on…?!"
One-by-one all the underwater Knightmares were taken offline as each of the vessels began to sink.
"What is going on down there?! Someone get me an answer!" Anticlea exclaimed as most of her forces were already appearing crippled.
"My lady, we're receiving reports of no casualties…" An officer reported, sounding more than a little confused himself.
"Excuse me?" Anticlea questioned.
"My lady! I see it!" The final Portal pilot exclaimed over the radio. "It's… It's a shark! A giant shark…!" Like all the others, it cut off to static.
"Did he just say… a shark?" Anticlea questioned again in confusion before the entire vessel rocked again. "What happened!"
"We've been hit! Something struck the ship's underbelly!"
Right outside, something large burst through the deck of the command ship, which was revealed to be a giant mechanical shark, with a blue and yellow paintjob. Said robotic shark hovered in the air briefly before it transformed to reveal a Cybertronian with a claw-like appendage on it's right hand. It tore open the bridge's roof of the command center.
"Anticlea eu Britannia, I presume."
"Who are you, Decepticon?" She questioned with a glare.
"You can call me Sky-Byte." The Sharkticon introduced. "I'm also the one who just took down your entire fleet. But don't worry, everyone is alive, including your Knightmare pilots. So I'll accept your surrender now."
"You honestly expect me to surrender?!"
"Pretty much." Sky-Byte shrugged. "Look at it this way, your Empire is one step away from completely folding and there are much worse Cons than me out there, so be glad that I don't like to kill all that much. Surrender, and you'll live. I'm a shark of my word. If you don't…. well let's just say I can't make any guarantees with what my other cohorts might do to you."
Seeing as she had no choice in the matter, all Anticlea could do was fall to her knees in defeat. Long had she been in denial, but she could no longer refuse the facts. Britannia's time was coming to an end. "I surrender."
"Good move." Sky-Byte smiled.
Area 24
The capital of the Settlement was completely under siege from the Decepticon forces personally led by Bruticus, tearing through any and all defenses that tried to stand in their way. Currently, explosions could even be seen in the distance as the floating aircraft carrier known as the Granberry flew away as fast as it could, while also appearing invisible to the naked eye.
"Toto, are you sure this cloaking will keep us hidden?" Marrybell asked the operator of their airship as they continued to fly away.
"Yes, your majesty." Toto Thompson, a young dark-skinned woman who was at the controls for their ship.
Marrybell nodded with understanding as she accessed the communications to see the footage of her general and tactical advisor, Johann Schwarzer, who appeared to be in the main military base back in the Settlement, his face half-covered in blood as it looked like he went through hell.
"We should be at safe distance soon, General Schwarzer." Oldrin Zevon, a young woman with blonde hair and green eyes said as she stood at Marrybell's side.
"Good." Johann said with relief as the sounds of battle could be heard from his end. "Our forces are all but wiped out… but I'll keep them busy as long as I can."
Among those gathered on the ship's bridge were also the remainder of the Glinda Knights, and it was clear to many of them that they were against this plan.
"But we could have stayed and help you!" Leonhardt Steiner exclaimed.
"You know he's right, Johann! We're some of the best pilots in the Empire and you're having us run!?" Makira Soresi also shouted.
"No! We've discussed this! Your priority is to protect Princess Marrybell! Who may very well be the last Britannian royal who remains free!" Johann exclaimed back.
"But… General…" Sokkia Sherpa also tried to protest but felt a gentle touch on her shoulder coming from Tink Lockhart as he looked up at the general for what he felt would be the last time.
"We understand, and we will protect her to the last, General. It's been an honor." Tink saluted, as did the rest of the Glynda Knights, many of whom were beginning to show tears, even Marrybell stood up to salute her general, doing her best not to cry.
"Give them hell, General." Marrybell chocked.
Johann chuckled as the room he was in rocked with the sounds of battle coming closer. "Good luck… to all of you. Goodbye." The transmission cut off as Marrybell sank back in her throne again.
Meanwhile, inside the control room of the base, the roof had been blown off as a trio of Helicopter Vehicons flew down and transformed to surround Johann as he continued to sit in his chair, not even remotely intimidated by the gigantic aliens that surrounded him.
"You put up quite a fight, for a meatbag." One Vehicon said mockingly. This only resulted in Johann laughing out loud. "What? You think this is funny? You're quite pathetic."
"Pathetic, am I?" Johann chuckled. "This coming from a soulless machine. Of course, it's damn funny!"
The Vehicon scowled, but once he and his companions looked around the room, they looked in shock to find that the whole place had been wired with explosives. And more than likely, the entire facility was wired to blow as well, and the one who held the trigger was Johann himself.
"Goodbye, Marrybell mel Britannia. May you avenge your mother and sister someday." Johann made his final remarks.
"Put down the switch!" The Vehicon exclaimed as he and his men tried to shoot their Energon blasts at him, but the wounded general still barley ducked out of the way as he scowled.
"Never! I don't take orders from monsters like you!" He stated before pushing the trigger.
*BOOM!*
The entire base exploded, killing not only those three Vehicons, but all the others that had surrounded the base. Even Bruticus was slightly blown back by the shockwave but was nonetheless still standing.
"Hmmp, cute." Bruticus brushed off.
The Glinda Knights didn't need to read the alert from the Grandberry's computers to know what had just happened. Marrybell had already covered her mouth with her hand as she let her tears fall, mourning the loss of her general and friend. As she cried, she felt an embrace from the side and turned to see it was coming from her childhood friend Oldrin who also had tears in her eyes, yet carried a determined expression.
"We'll make sure it wasn't for nothing." Oldrin told her princess. "All of us."
Marrybell glanced up slightly to see Toto, Leonhardt, Tink, Marika, and Sokkia all standing before her and saluting her, showing that no matter what, none of them would leave her side. They were her Knights, her teammates, her friends.
This was enough for her to wipe the tears from her eyes as she stood up with a fiery look in her eyes. "Thank you… all of you."
Six Months Later
The Holy Empire of Britannia, which once stood for over two centuries, was no more. The entire homeland had been completely overthrown by the Decepticons that have increased exponentially. Where once stood Pendragon was now the citadel known as New Kaon with the massive fortress of Darkmount at the very center. All the occupied Areas of Britannia have likewise been overthrown, the entire Britannian population, as well as those that were considered the Numbers, have been thoroughly enslaved; all rights were stripped away from the people completely as they were all forced into slave labor and were provided food only when necessary.
Euro Britannia, at the moment, had remained untouched by the Decepticons as they still continued to wage war against the E.U., have not yet received any Decepticon aid either. The Chinese Federation had likewise ceased any expansion as well, choosing instead to wait and be approached by an ambassador from the Decepticons to come so they could talk about a possible joining. But nobody ever dared to act out against the Decepticons, despite the obvious violation of human rights they have inflicted upon the Britannians and natives to the conquered areas, mostly out of fear. If the Decepticons could completely uproot the Britannian Empire in half a year at most, just imagine what they could do to everything else now that they have a full-fledged fleet that was about as big as their army.
Out of all the nations the Decepticons have conquered, aside from Britannia itself, the one that appeared to have come out the worst was Japan. Even under Britannian subjugation, there were still vibrant cities, but now… the Tokyo Settlement, and all major cities across the country, were in near ruins; suffice to say, one could mistake the entire nation for a single ghetto as every man, woman, and child who lived in the country (Britannian, Japanese, or otherwise) was now a slave to the Decepticon regime; forced to work in the Energon mines that laid underground across the nation.
The largest of these mines was Mount Fuji itself. Britannia lacked the advancements to thoroughly strip the mountain of its Sakuradite/Energon deposits, but the Decepticons' more advanced technology offered no such limits. The population of those that worked in the mine was a little more than a million total; their jobs included manual labor such as gathering and transporting Energon crystals, or even operating machinery that served for excavation. To say it was grueling was an understatement; people practically lived in the mines and worked on a very strict schedule, taking only the bare minimum of breaks and being allowed the same amount of food and water, and sleeping for exactly eight hours before resuming their work. One could say they were being worked to death, but that was not the case. The Decepticons in command of the mine made the effort to ensure that nobody was worked to death, not out of compassion, but efficiency; they needed living slaves after all. But of course, that didn't mean they weren't above dealing punishments should anyone step out of line. But then again, who would when your slavers are giant alien robots?
It was not just civilians who were enslaved, but even former rebels and soldiers of the now fallen Britannia empire. One such soldier was the sole survivor of the Glaston Knights, Gilbert G. P. Guilford, who was but a shadow of his former self. Gone were his military clothes, now he wore the same kind of tattered rags that every other slave currently wore, his hair was ragged and unclean, he'd already grown a small and messy beard, and his body wasn't what it used to be.
Guilford pushed a cart of Energon crystals down a trail using physical strength alone. He heard the cracking of an electric whip from the Vehicon that was closest. "Break." The Vehicon ordered, prompting Guilford to stop pushing and fall on his hands and knees to catch a break.
'How did it come to this?' He asked himself that question almost every day. He had lost many friends in the military when the Decepticons invaded, he also lost his home, his ranking, his body was on the verge of falling part, the people he'd sworn to protect were enslaved, and he had failed the one person who meant more to him than anything else. 'Forgive me… Princess Cornelia…' He muttered himself that almost every day as well, as if it were his mantra.
But just because his body was broken didn't mean his spirit was. He had been secretly working with a small group to try and stage a rebellion to free the slaves; though he only recently met his supposed cohorts, a former crime lord who choose to go under his alias 'the Black King', a noblewoman of the Stadtfelt family, and another noblewoman of the downgraded Ashford family. These weren't the type of people he'd thought to stage a revolt, especially considering the two noblewomen still had discriminatory views regarding the 'Elevens', which only frustrated Guilford. Why should that matter when they're all in the same nightmare?! Still, he got them to agree to help him. Now they just had to plan and organize their revolt, and to do it carefully.
Suddenly, there was a loud chime that echoed throughout the large chamber, getting the attention of every slave present, as well as the Vehicon guards. Everyone directed their eyes toward a large screen at the top of the chamber that had the Decepticon emblem on it before it came to life, showing a large blue Decepticon with large antler-shaped additions on his head.
"Eyy Yoo all you Meatbags, it's your boss Thunderhoof. You know, the guy in charge of this mine and making sure you all got plenty of work and full bellies?" The Decepticon who led the Mt Fuji excavation introduced himself. "See? I like a nice and smooth operation going as much as the next Con, and I'm happy to know you all feel the same, that's why you work so hard right? See, it ain't rocket science. Productive workers are happy workers. But… when someone tries to act all ungrateful and start a riot, that's when I get angry. Kinda like what these bums tried to do!"
Guilford gave a gasp as he saw on the screen Mrs. Ashford, Mrs. Stadtfelt, and even the Black King, all standing on a small platform that just barley hung over a vat of smelting metal.
"See here, a couple of pro-Britannian chumps were planning on staging a revolt." Thunderhoof spoke. "Can't you Meatbags take a hint? Britannia's gone! Deal with it! Like I said, productive workers are happy workers… but troublesome workers are dead workers!" He pulled on a lever next to him that caused the floor to collapse as all three of them fell into the smelting vat. Guilford's pupils shrunk as he heard the painful cries of his three cohorts as they were burnt and melted alive all at the same time.
"And that folks is what happens when you Meatbags whose boss around here, ya got that?" Thunderhoof smirked. "So, keep out of trouble and we're all happy… make trouble, and I'll make trouble back. Have a good day."
The screen cut off as all the human slaves, understandably horrified, wasted no time in getting back to work else they surfer a similar fate. Guilford couldn't believe it. Was this really all the future hold? Was there no hope at all?
"Get back to work, break's over." The Vehicon with the electric whip told him, snapping his whip. Guilford glared at him as he tried to pick himself up, but his legs gave out as he fell back down. The Vehicon chuckled as he saw his pitiful state. "Gotta admit, it's a privilege to see all you Britannians in such a state. It wasn't that long ago you Meatbags thought you were on top of the world against the other Meatbags, but I don't see much of a difference. I always thought you guys were annoying, but this is just pure gold." He laughed.
Guilford glared as hard as he could, wanting nothing more than to fight back, but before he could make a move, a trio of individuals quickly gathered around him. They all appeared to be teenagers; two girls, one blonde, the other brunette, along with a boy with dark blue hair.
"Hey, cut him a break, will you?" The boy chastised the Con. "He can barely walk!"
The Vehicon glared at the teenagers. "You know the rules: don't talk back and do what you're told."
"We're not talking back; we're saying what needs to be said." The blonde spoke. "This guy just needs a break before he keels over!"
"Is it too much to ask for ten minutes just to rest?" The brunette questioned. "Or would you rather explain to Thunderhoof that you let production slow down just to mess with the slaves?"
The Vehicon could only glare harder but could not come up with a proper argument. "Fine. Ten minutes, then you get back to work." He walked away to check on the other slaves.
Once he was gone, the three teenagers knelt around Guilford. "Here, take this." The Blonde offered a canteen of water, which he took without hesitation and gulped it all down in one sitting.
"Thank you…." Guilford said in between breaths as he got a good look at the young individuals who helped him. "I… I haven't seen any of you here before. New arrivals?"
"Something like that." The Brunette said. "My name's Shirley, this is Milly and Rivalz, we're here to help."
"Listen, do you know where we can access communications?" Rivalz asked, surprising Guilford. "Every major chamber in this mine has to have at least one communications port, right? Just in case it all goes down."
"Eh… yes. Why do you need to know that?" Guilford asked.
Milly had a knowing smirk on her face. "You'll see. Wouldn't wanna spoil the surprise."
The three former members of the Student Council, followed Guilford to the communications room on the farthest end of the chamber, doing their best not to draw attention of the other slaves or Vehicon guards, so far it worked out just fine. Guilford was still confused about what these kids' intentions were, if they were to mess with the communications, they might get into serious trouble and the last thing he wanted was to see children die.
When they got to the communications door, they spotted two slaves standing guard, both men and looked rather ragged as they sat on the ground. Milly walked toward them and decided to put on some charm.
"Hey, why don't you guys get some water?" She offered. "My friends and I can cover for you."
"But… if the guards find out…?" One man said rather nervously.
"It would be only like five minutes." Milly brushed off. "Plus, we're only standing guard. It's not like it's part of the Energon production line, so it shouldn't be too much trouble, right?"
Both men looked to each other before standing up. "Thank you, we owe ya." They both left to get some water as Milly carried a knowing smirk on her face.
'Don't thank us yet.'
Once they were in the clear, Shirley, Guilford, and Rivalz all stepped out. "Alright, Rivalz and I will stand guard." Milly said. "Shirley, you know what to do."
Shirley nodded as she and Guilford entered the communication room. It was rather small as it had a console and a screen with Cybertronian script reading all over.
"It's Cybertronian." Shirley said as Guilford watched her access the keypad on the console. "Probably built for Decepticon Mini-Cons, they want all the big guys on guard. Mount Fuji is huge, not to mention all the Energon and mineral interference, so they gotta have terminals like these all over the place in order to establish smooth communications."
Guilford looked toward her in surprise. "That… makes sense but how do you…?"
"Let's just say I know a certain doctor who helped me to better understand this sort of thing." Shirley said. "I know the basics about Cybertronian coding, but you should see my friend Nina. She's like a robot for the stuff."
"I… what… what are you doing… exactly?" Guilford asked, looking even more confused as he saw Shirley insert a thumb drive into the console before she pulled out a small communications device.
"Zero, this is Shirley; the virus is uploaded. Tell Ratchet and the gang to work their magic."
Guilford's heart skipped a beat. "Did… did you just say Zero?"
"Oh, and also tell Cornelia that we ran into Guilford." Shirley reported over her device. "I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that."
Now it almost felt like his own heart stopped completely. Cornelia?! As in Princess Cornelia?! Guilford could not believe what he was hearing. "Who… who are you…?"
Shirley smiled as she faced him directly. "Milly, Rivalz, and I… we're Black Knights, partners to the Autobots." She showed the back of her communications device, which showed the emblem of the Autobot-Black Knight Alliance.
The Ark, a seemingly derelict ship that continued to lay at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, once serving as a ship of exodus for the Autobots to escape off Cybertron, was now the home and base for the Autobot-Black Knight alliance. Over these last six months, the Ark has undergone significant repairs and modifications, thanks mostly in part to the resistance group using their connections to reverse-engineer what was left of the Harbinger in Australia.
Currently stationed on the bridge at the communications' hub were two Autobots; one was the medic everyone knew as Ratchet. The other was a red Autobot that had a more box-like frame to his body with a rod-like device on his right shoulder, this was the Autobot scientist known as Preceptor. Standing alongside them, at the human-extension of the communications' hub was the orange Mini-Con Fixit; and right next to him was a human teenage girl with dark green hair and glasses, currently wearing a red dress with a blue hemming, thigh-high boots, and a black cloak that bore the Autobot-Black Knight insignia boldly on its back.
"The virus has been uploaded; we're patched into the Fuji-mines security systems." Nina reported. "Giving us access to communications and security footage."
"T-AI it is time to get to work." Preceptor said to an individual who had yet to appear.
A hologram then suddenly appeared in mid-air near the bridge's main screen, resembling a young human female wearing a red outfit that resembled a Japanese policewoman, complete with an Autobot-Black Knight insignia on her hat. This was the Ark's new artificial intelligence unit, T-AI, or Tactical Artificial Intelligence, the 'daughter' of Teletraan One.
"Yes Preceptor, I know have complete access to all of the mine's systems." T-AI revealed. "I will begin disabling communications with any outside forces, while also sending a signal to our own to get ready."
"Fixit, I am patching you into the mine's communication system." Ratchet told the Mini-Con. "Begin moving the humans to a safer location."
"Got it." Fixit nodded as he accessed his console to speak directly into the mine's speakers. "Emergency alert! All humans are to be transported to the central living unit at once! Repeat! Relocate all humans to central living unit!"
"It's working guys." They heard Milly's voice over the comns. "Everyone's being moved. We'll head with them and blend in. Meet you guys there."
"T-AI, begin mobilizing the attack!" Ratchet ordered the Ark's AI. "It won't be long before the enemy suspects something!"
"Already on it." T-AI said before she vanished from sight.
As the attack was being organized for deployment, a quartet of human females, along with a certain cat, waited anxiously in the living quarters that had been built onto the bridge. One was the young Japanese girl and one of the heads of Kyoto, Kaguya Sumeragi. Another was the former princess Euphemia li Britannia, now donning a primarily black uniform with a sleeveless top and golden trim that had a golden Autobot-Black Knight emblem on its front which also split into four pieces that stretched down her front and back with a purple sash tied around the waist, black separate sleeves that stretched from her elbows to her wrists, and a pair of white thigh-high boots. Standing beside them was the former maid turned bodyguard, Sayoko, who now bore a black outfit identical to that of a kunoichi. And finally, there was Nunnally vi Britannia, her eyes fully open as she put Arthur down from her lap stand up, clad in a black and gold dress that stretched down to her ankles, all to cover up the exo-suit coverings that adorned her legs which enabled her to stand.
"So, looks it'\s beginning… after six long months…" Nunnally said in a somewhat nervous tone.
Euphemia nodded. "Everything's going to be different now."
"What do you expect? We're about to go to war with the Decepticons." Kaguya pointed out. "But given this is Lelouch and Optimus we're talking about, I know we can win."
This was enough for Nunnally to smile as she exchanged smiles with her elder half-sister, her friend, and bodyguard before looking toward the main screen where they would see everything that was occurring in the mines.
The cargo-bay was lined to the brim with hundreds of large and tall machines of all shapes and sizes. Most of them appeared to be Knightmares of many different colors from red to blue to white, even a single pink one, but most were predominantly black. But it wasn't just the Knightmares that filled the space, it was all Autobots as well, in addition to a series of familiar faces, there were many news ones to. Every single Autobot and Knightmare pilot, who was already in their cockpit or standing on the shoulder of their Knightmare gave their co-leaders their undivided attention.
One was the unmistakable figure of Optimus Prime, and on his right was a black Knightmare that stood on equal level of him with the masked revolutionary himself standing on the Knightmare's shoulder. Unlike his previous attire, while he still bore the same cape and mask, his suit had undergone quite a change. Gone was the purple and gold cravat or any other piece of fluff; now it was all armor that covered most of his body, mostly black with dark purple, aside from the Autobot-Black Knight emblem he bore proudly on his chest.
"You all have your assignments!" Zero told his soldiers. "Zero Squad will converge on the north side of the mines, the Elite Guard will take the south, the Black Dragon unit will attack from the west, and Wreckers will do what they do best on the east end which is the most heavily concentrated of soldiers."
"Deputy Commanders and the Aerialbots will take their assigned unit to cover the skies." Optimus added. "Prevent the leadership of the mines from escaping at all costs. Zero and I will see to it the slaves are safely brought aboard. You have all waited patiently for this day… For six long months… but your patience has paid off. Our forces have grown, we are stronger now than we've ever been."
"Through arrival of new Autobots as well as the joining of the Black Knights and Peace Mark, we have built a coalition that can and will free this world! And it's only going to grow!" Zero announced. "The Decepticons have underestimated humanity, and we will show them the folly of that mistake! OUR REVOLUTION BEGINS NOW!"
This was met with multiple cheers and battle cries that may as well have echoed throughout the entire Ark. They were finally ready.
Fuji Mines - Control Room
"EYY YOO! What's going on?!" Thunderhoof exclaimed as he stomped into the control room. "Why are my little Meatbag workers in the living space and not working?!"
"Sir! Our communications have been hacked!" One Vehicon reported. "We can't reestablish!"
"Find the wiseguy who did this and teach em a lesson!" Thunderhoof exclaimed. Suddenly, the alarm rang throughout the control room. "What now?!"
"Multiple Groundbridge portals are opening from all sides! Enemy units are pouring into the mines!" Another Vehicon reported only for him to give a gasp. "I don't believe it… it's the Autobots… and… it looks like…. The Black Knights!"
"WHAT!?" Thunderhoof shouted as he pushed the Vehicon away to look at the battles ensuing on the screen.
North Tunnels
The first vehicle to exit the Groundbridge and engage the Decepticons was a pink sportscar with a white stripe. It transformed to reveal a pink female Autobot who used her momentum to deliver a punch to take down one Vehicon before opening fire with her Energon blaster to take down the three in front of her.
"Zero Squad, move in!" Elita-One, the commander of the Zero Squad, ordered her team as they rushed past her to engage the enemy.
On one side was Bumblebee, who drove in his vehicle mode, only his paintjob had changed from last time; its colors were reversed with black being the primary color and yellow striped. Bumblebee shot into a group of three Vehicons before transforming, and while in mid-air, drew his new weapon, a black-steeled katana, big enough for an Autobot to wield, which he used to cut down all three Vehicons in one slice.
On the other side was the white Knightmare known as the Gouka Byakuen, piloted by Orpheus Zevon, a young man with blonde hair and green eyes. The Knightmare rolled along the sidewall with its landspinner system before drawing its blade from its built-in right-arm armament to cut the heads off two Vehicons.
With this group dealt with, two more units pushed forward, one was Arcee in her motorcycle form on the ground, the other was the newly upgraded Guren SEITEIN Eight Elements that rolled on the ceiling with its own landspinner system. A group of six Vehicons tried to shoot at them, but the Guren's pilot, Kallen Kozuki, pushed her Knightmare forward, causing it to leap down from the ceiling and toward the group, where she unleashed her Radiant Wave Surger Claw on the Guren's right arm to unleash a blast of Surger energy that encompassed three of the frontmost Cons to melt and explode in spectacular fashion. The remaining three tried to back up and gain some distance, but Arcee had already transformed and jumped over the Guren, flipping over its shoulders for a boost to leap high into the air and open fire with her Energon blasters to score precise headshots on all three, killing them in an instant.
As more Vehicons attempted to come in and stop them, one more Autobot, in his red sportscar vehicle mode swerved in to trip up the front most two Vehicons before transforming to draw his sword and cut down a third. The remaining Decepticons decided to make a break for it.
"Ah, what's the matter Cons? Sideswipe too much for ya?" The young Autobot named Sideswipe mocked. Only to realize the Vehicons weren't retreating, but instead getting their hands on their massive drills, which they would use as make-shift weapons to try and obliterate the enemy forces. "Or… you're just getting those big drill things. Okay…" Sideswipe said with a blank expression.
"Don't get cocky Sideswipe." Suzaku's voice rang out as the Lancelot Albion flew directly over him to draw its VARIS rifle and fire a powerful blast that not only obliterated the first drill in the middle but created a shockwave that blew down and knocked over the remaining two that crushed the Vehicons controlling them.
"Guy calls me cocky, but he's the one piloting one of the most OP Knightmares around." Sideswipe said with a slight sulk.
"Show off." Kallen muttered at Suzaku's performance with a slight glare.
"Commander Elita, tunnel entrance secure." Arcee reported to Elite-One as the rest of the team regrouped.
"Good work Zero Squad, but don't get comfortable." Elita advised. "Our job's not done yet." She, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe transformed into their respective vehicle modes and rolled out along with the Guren, Lancelot, and Byakuen.
South Tunnels
From the southern side of the mines, in a much larger tunnel, a blue semi-auto truck led the charge with several other Autobots in vehicle mode behind him with several Knightmares as well. Among these vehicle modes included a primarily white sportscar with blue and red stripes, another white and blue sportscar with the number 38 on the side doors, a white and black police car, and a blue police SUV. Riding alongside them were two Vincents, one was of black variety, the other had a dark purple motif with a cape similar to that of a Glaston Knight, and finally a black painted version of the Florence that flew over the group as they all shot straight toward a large group of thirty Vehicon troopers that immediately opened fire.
"Monica, break up their ranks!" The blue truck ordered as the black Florence, known as the Florence Nero, shot ahead of the group in the air.
"Yes sir!" Monica Krushevsky, the former Knight of Twelve replied as her Knightmare immediately drew a pair of Hadron Cannons from its shoulders and fired into the Vehicons. The blast destroyed at least ten of them as the remaining twenty scattered, allowing the Elite Guard unit to spread out and neutralize them quickly.
The blue semi-auto truck in the lead shot forward toward four of the Vehicons before he transformed to reveal himself as Ultra Magnus, who immediately drew a battle hammer made almost entirely out of blue Energon, which he used to obliterate all four Vehicons in one swing. Three more tank Vehicons attempted to charge up their main weapons to shoot down the large Autobot but they were quickly gunned down by a hail of magnesium bullets from the two Vincent Knightmares that guarded Ultra Magnus' sides.
"Heads up, Commander." Cornelia Li Britannia stated as she piloted her own custom Vincent.
"We got your back." Chigusa added as she was in the black Vincent.
"Good work soldiers." Ultra Magnus nodded.
Along the right side of the tunnel, the two sportscar traveled into a group of six Vehicons that fired at them, only for the two Autobots to transform and reveal themselves as Jazz and Smokescreen respectively. With Jazz at the lead, he shot his Energon grappler to grab a Vehicon by the head and pull him into a punch with enough force to send him crashing into a second.
"Taste the music." Jazz smirked as his right arm converted into a weapon to fire a condensed sonic blast and take down a third. "You're up, Undertone." Jazz shot out an object from his right arm that appeared like a white buzz saw, which transformed into the white Autobot Mini-Con named Undertone, who drew a blade from his back to decapitate one Vehicon before landing on the ground.
"Down in front!" Smokescreen stated as he punched down a Vehicon before firing a charged Energon shot into the chest of a second to blast its spark out. "Too hot for ya, Con?" Smokescreen smirked.
On the left side of the tunnel, the remaining seven Vehicon troopers opened fire on the two police vehicles, with the car taking point, only to transform and reveal himself as the Ninja-Bot named Prowl. While in mid-air, Prowl threw a series of metallic shurikens to decapitate two Vehicons before landing on his hands in between two more to spin his legs like a helicopter and knock them down. The last three tried to ambush him, only to be hit in the head by precise Energon shots from the crossbow of the female Autobot Strongarm.
"I've got your back, sir." Strongarm told the veteran.
"Nice shot cadette." Prowl gave a stern nod of acknowledgment.
"Commander, south entrance is secure." Monica reported to Ultra Magnus as they regrouped.
"We're bound to encounter more hostiles as we get closer to our destination before meeting up with the others." Ultra Magnus told everyone. "Stay on guard and remember the plan."
"Yes sir!" They all acknowledged, save for the silent Undertone who only nodded before relinking with Jazz as the Autobots all transformed and rolled out with the three Knightmares deeper into the tunnels.
East Tunnels
The entire cavern shook with explosions as a massive hole was blown in the wall, taking down several Vehicons as a group of over forty heavily armored Decepticon troopers looked in surprise to see a line of the new Black Knights' mass-produced Knightmares, the Akatsuki, each of them either armed with heavy-artillery weapon or built-in shoulder missiles. The one at the lead was piloted by arguably the most hot headed of the group.
"The Black Knights are back, bitches!" Tamaki exclaimed as he and his unit opened fire again, clearing out the enemy troopers and letting the way in for the main Wrecker line-up, led by Ironhide.
The Autobot veteran transformed and let loose with his Energon cannons to blow away the front most Vehicons with Bulkhead and Wheeljack swerving around his side in their respective vehicle modes before transforming with Bulkhead bring up his mace to crush one Vehicon and swing it to take down a second while Wheeljack drew his blades to cut the arms off one Vehicon before kicking him away and slicing to decapitate the one behind him. Above the group flew a bright blue Knightmare that looked like a mix between the Guren and the Akatsuki, with a silver Radiant Wave Surger like device serving as its left hand.
"Come on Cons!" The pilot, going by the name Rai Kururugi, exclaimed. "Let me show you the full power of this bad ass mother, the Raiden SEITEIN Seven Elements!" He shot his Surger claw forward, but instead of generating heat-based energy, it began to generate a surge of electricity, which it shot out to zap and blast one Vehicon before the electricity spread to take down five other Vehicons near him, causing all six to explode.
"That's our Rai." Bulkhead smirked.
"Bringing down the thunder." Wheeljack also smirked with pride.
But they weren't the only ones; joining them and riding past them were four more Autobots in their vehicle modes: a green and black monster truck with a dinosaur-like motif, a cyan-blue armored colored motorcycle, a red Cybertronian tank, and a dark blue sportscar with flames on the side. Flying above them was a variation of the Galeschin, which was now black and blue, as opposed to white, and equipped with a Float system. The group appeared to be heading for a line of Tank Vehicons.
"Warpath, lets clear out these tanks!" Nonette Enneagram stated as she piloted the Galeschin Conquista.
"You got it, baby!" The tank named Warpath exclaimed as he fired a charged Energon shot. "Kablam!" Nonette also fired a shot from its Hadron blaster. Both shots easily blew away most of the Tank Vehicons in spectacular fashion.
Out of the smoke drove the monster truck before it transformed into the heavily armored Autobot known as Grindcore. "Who here needs punching?!" He exclaimed enthusiastically before punching a Vehicon so hard he was sent flying to the other side of the tunnel. He sent out a second punch that instantly broke apart the Vehicon on contact. The motorcycle drove up next to him before transforming into the fem-bot Chromia, who drew an Energon snipper rifle, which she used to shoot down four incoming reinforcement Vehicons with precise headshots.
"No reinforcements crashing this party." Chromia smirked.
"And that's why we bring our sharpshooter." Ironhide walked up with a smirk of his own, which they shared.
"Hey lovebirds, the fight's not over yet!" Nonette warned them as they saw a Decepticon Destroyer-Class trooper march its way toward them.
"I got this!" The remaining Autobot, still in his flame-styled vehicle mode, shouted as he zoomed directly for the large Con. He transformed into the young Autobot Wrecker named Hotshot before sliding underneath the larger enemy to fire at his underside before sliding back to leap up onto its back, with the Decepticon struggling to shake him off before Hotshot climbed up to the back of his head. "Open wide!" He shoved his Energon blaster directly into the Decepticon's face before firing a charged shot to blow its head off. Hot Shot then leapt off the fallen corpse before taking a victory pose.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, that guy is awesome!" Tamaki stated as he and his squad rolled up.
"We're not finished." Ironhide got everyone's attention. "We got the most important job here, let's keep going."
"We're really gonna do this?" Nonette asked. "I mean, not even Britannia…"
"It's either that or let the Cons have this place." Wheeljack said.
"Kirihara and the rest of Kyoto did give us permission to do this." Bulkhead pointed out.
"Then we better get going." Rai said with narrowed eyes as the entire Wreckers unit proceeded deeper into the mines, taking them into the unexplored areas of Mt. Fuji.
West Tunnels
The Decepticon troopers had already engaged with this small enemy unit, though the size didn't seem to matter as this group of Knightmares, along with a single Autobot, cut them down with grace and agility.
At the lead was a black Knightmare that bore a slight resemblance to the Gekka, known as the Zangetsu, piloted by none other than Tohdoh himself, who rode into a group of five Vehicons before drawing his Knightmare's katana to slice with such speed that they were already scrap in less than five seconds.
"Black Dragon unit, press on!" Tohdoh ordered his squad as four dark blue Akatsukis rode past him, each one piloted by his comrades formerly known as the Four Holy Swords; Chiba, Urabe, Senba, and Asahina, alongside an orange car, and a purple Knightmare that carried a large quantity of blades.
"Surround them and initiate the Spinning-Life-or-Death formation!" Chiba ordered.
"Right." Asahina, Senba, and Urabe all exclaimed as the four of them surrounded a group of six Vehicons before spinning around them as they pointed their katanas outward to begin severing the limbs off the Vehicons in spectacular fashion.
The purple Gekka, also known as the Gekka Shiden, drew a pair of large Shiden Kaminaritsuki swords to cut down four Vehicons in one slice as it zoomed past them. The pilot of this Knightmare was named Zi Dien, a man of Chinese ethnicity with partially long dark brown hair and brown eyes, as well as a pair of glasses.
The orange car drove toward four Vehicons before transforming to reveal himself as the Autobot Drift, who wielded a pair of dual blades, which he sliced outward to decapitate the two Vehicons in front of him before the remaining two tried to gain some distance.
"Jetstorm! Safeguard! Deploy!" Drift deployed a duo of Mini-Cons from his arms; Jetstrom was primarily black while wilding a set of nunchucks, and Safeguard was red as he wielded a naginata. Jetstorm was already at the face of one of the Vehicons, which he based with his nunchuck repeatedly before knocking him down. The final one was sliced at the legs by Safeguard's naginata, knocking him down before Slipstream finished him with a slice at the neck area.
"Master, the enemy has been dealt with in this area." Jetstorm reported to Drift.
"If you wish, we can scout further ahead." Safeguard offered.
"Negative, return." Drift ordered, prompting the two Mini-Cons to return to him as he and the rest of this unit pressed onward.
Outside
A large door was opened along the side of Mt. Fuji, which was revealed to be an escape route as one large dropship was escorted out by a large group of twenty Helicopter Vehicons.
"Eyy Yoo! Get that Energon outta here!" Thunderhoof told the pilots over "I'll be damned if I let those stinking Bots and their Meatbag sidekicks get all the goods!"
"We're just leaving the mines now!" One Vehicon pilot reported in.
"Incoming!" The Co-Pilot alerted as they saw a large group of airborne Akatsukis, all owned by the Black Knights, alongside two others flying Knightmares, one was black and looked like a slimmed down version of the Gawain, and the other was much larger and heavily armored; they were known as the Gawain Nerion and the Agravain.
"They're trying to escape with the Energon!" Kaname Ohgi, who piloted the Gawain Nerion, exclaimed with a heated glare.
"Not if we have anything to say about it." The flamboyantly dressed masked man by the alias of Wizard stated, as he piloted the Agravain. "Aerialbots, Ohgi and I will secure the transport. You lead our forces to take out the escort!"
A group of four Autobots, in their vehicle modes as fighter jets: one was a white version of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, another was an F-15 Eagle Jet with red stripes, the third was a silver Concorde, while the fourth and final one was a red and black VLOT jet with turbine engines.
"Acknowledged." Silverbolt, the Concorde, replied. "Aerialbots, move in!" He and his teammates led the flying Akatsukis into the charging horde of helicopter Vehicons. Due to being caught by surprise, the Decepticon forces were quickly gunned down by the Black Knights' Knightmares while the Aerialbots took out more than a few themselves.
Silverbolt transformed and hovered in the air with jet-boosters on his feet to gun down three incoming helicopter Vehicons with his rapid-fire Energon machine gun. Jetfire covered his back as he transformed from his Blackbird mode and hovered behind the leader of the Aerialbots and managed to get a target lock with his rocket-launcher to fire and destroy two more helicopter Vehicons.
"Hey Windblade!" Air Raid exclaimed in his Eagle mode while flying alongside the VLOT jet. "Bet I can take down more Cons than you!"
"You're on!" Windblade accepted the challenge as they both shot into a group of helicopter Vehicons. Windblade transformed into her robot mode to pull out both her blades and slice the two Vehicons that she shot over before transforming again to fly toward a third and gun it down as well as a fourth with rapid-fire Energon blasts from her vehicle mode. At the same time, Air Raid transformed into his own robot-mode and hovered in the air while in the middle of a group of three helicopter Vehicons, whom he was able to easily blow out of the sky with his Energon shotgun.
"We just lost all our escorts!" The Vehicon pilot of the transport exclaimed, only for him and his co-pilot to look in shock as a green energy-blade pierced through the ceiling to cut a hole in it, which was revealed to be the work of the Gawain Nerion.
"We'll be taking that Energon off your hands now." Ohgi said as he reached in with his Knightmare to grab the Vehicons by their heads and yank them out, only to be quickly obliterated by a large Hadron blast from the Agravain.
"Deputy Commander, use your Slash Harkens to stabilize the transport!" Wizard told him as he already fired his Knightmare's Slash Harkens, eight total, to grab the starboard side, while Ohgi did the same for his Gawain's ten finger Slash Harkens on the port side. Both Knightmares held the transport steady as they kept themselves hovering in the air.
"T-AI, we have the transport secure! Prepare an immediate Groundbridge to the Ark's cargo bay! Preferably a large and empty one!" Jetfire accessed his comns.
"Rodger, Jetfire! Opening Groundbridge now!" T-AI responded just as a large Groundbridge portal opened up below the transport, allowing the Gawain and Agravain to lower it into the portal. Once it was safe and secure, the portal closed.
"Scrap yeah! We just scored a tone of Energon!" Air Raid fist bumped.
"Do we really need it though?" Windblade asked. "I mean, the science-group already got that Synthetic Energon stuff figured out."
"Not completely." Jetfire put in. "We were able to mostly stabilize the formula, enough so that it can power the Ark and sustain our Knightmares, but it's not ready for medical use. But this does cut our need for natural Energon down quite a bit."
"Come on, let's make sure no stragglers got away." Silverbolt transformed as the large group of flying Autobots and Knightmares searched the airspace around Mt. Fuji.
Mt. Fuji – Central Chambers
Twenty Vehicons patrolled the area that guarded the sealed living quarters where all the human slaves were currently being contained. However, guarding would prove to be the least of their worries as a Groundbridge portal opened up and two Knightmares flew out, alongside one particular Autobot in the form of a red and blue semi-auto truck. One of the Knightmares was a pink variety of the Akatsuki, while the other one was a tall black Knightmare that had the emblem of the Autobot-Black Knight alliance etched proudly in shiny silver right on its chest: this was the Shinkiro.
Immediately, the Vehicons opened fire onto the trio, with the Shinkiro and pink Akatsuki surrounding Optimus on all sides to generate a Blaze Luminous shield, both ends converging into a dome-like shield to protect all three.
"They don't even wait for an order." C.C., also known as Cera, said with a smirk as she piloted the pink Knightmare. "Goes to show they're afraid."
"As they should be." Zero, who had taken off his mask to reveal his face as the young revolutionary Lelouch vi Britannia, typed a way at a built-in keyboard in his cockpit, causing him to drop the shield, with the Shinkiro's chest plate opening up to produce a prism-like crystal. The prism was fired from the chest just as a beam shot out and hit the prism from behind, causing the beam to refract and shoot outward in the form of multiple energy beams that carved through the ten Vehicons they were facing like tissue paper, while also obliterating an section mines.
Cera then went on the attack with her Knightmare, firing her Akatsuki's wrist-mounted machine guns to gun down two Vehicons while Optimus Prime drew his axe and sliced to bring down three Vehicons in one strike. He then converted his right arm into an Ion Blaster to shoot and blast four more, leaving only one Vehicon standing.
The single remaining Vehicon may as well have made an oil-leak as he was literally cornered by Optimus Prime with the Shinkiro and pink Akatsuki on his left and right side respectively.
"Optimus Prime! I surrender! I SURRENDER!" The Vehicon raised his hands.
"Where are your human prisoners?" Optimus questioned.
"In that chamber! Right over there!" The frightened Vehicon pointed to the large steel door.
"You will open it and release your prisoners." Optimus demanded.
"I… I can't…!" The Vehicon stuttered. "If Thunderhoof found out…!"
"Then I suppose we have no choice." The Shinkiro's cockpit opened, revealing Lelouch's face as his Geass activated, the red emblem shinning in both his eyes as he looked directly into the Vehicon's optics. "Open the gate immediately."
The sigil flew from both Lelouch's eyes and into the Vehicon's optics, causing it to glow a slightly brighter red before he was put under Lelouch's control. "As you wish." He walked toward the console and began to press the key commands to open the gate.
"Lelouch's Geass has gone under a significant change." Cera thought to herself. "Typically, once a Geass reaches this stage, it can't be turned off, which should have been the case after exposure to the Thought Elevator over six months ago. But now it's strong enough to affect Cybertronians and Lelouch has complete control over it, able to turn it on and off as he sees fit. Maybe it's because he was exposed to Optimus' Matrix? Perhaps it's a sign of how much he himself has changed. Either way, I'm glad he was able to master it." She smiled.
The door began to open as the Geassed Vehicon walked back to the group. "It's done, is there anything else you need me to do?"
"Yes." Lelouch nodded. "Leave this place, take some time to reflect on your life, such as your choice in allegiance."
"As you wish." The Vehicon then transformed and left the mine.
Optimus couldn't help but smile at Lelouch's choice. A few months ago, he probably would have ordered that Vehicon to kill himself, but instead told him to rethink his life. Whether or not this mean he would join the Autobots or just leave the Decepticons was unsure, but even with his Geass, Lelouch still left him a choice.
With that done, Optimus, the Shinkiro, and pink Akatsuki walked toward the gateway where they got a good view at the conditions of every human slave there. There were over a million total, and each one looked like he or she was on the verge of starvation, it was worse than what people would look like in the ghettos of the old Britannian areas. Once the people's eyes set on the Autobot and two Knightmares, most of them looked more than a little frightened as they backed away slightly; all save a few.
"Hey! Optimus! Zero! We're over here!" Rivalz waved as he, Shirley, and Milly revealed themselves, along with the surprised Guilford who looked toward them in shock and awe.
"Zero… and Optimus Prime… they're alive…."
Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his friends from his Knightmare's screen. 'Thank god…'
"To think the Decepticons could enslave so many people in just a short time." Cera spoke to her two Contractors. "And this is only one Area, I can't even imagine what the others are like, as well as the old homeland that was once Britannia."
"What's happening here and there will happen in the rest of the world soon enough." Lelouch said with a serious expression as he put on his mask. "But we will not let that happen. These people need a future they can believe in." The cockpit of the Shinkiro opened up, allowing Zero himself to stand in his full glory, causing all the people to look in awe and surprise.
"Zero?"
"I… I thought he was dead…?"
"Does he look a little different?"
"Did he come to save us?"
"If that's Zero, does that mean that's an Autobot with him?"
"I think it's their leader!"
"People of Japan, be they Britannian or Japanese, I am sorry you've had to endure such horrors!" Zero began to announce. "But that ends now!"
Optimus Prime himself then stepped forward. "For those who do not know, my name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We are here to liberate not just you, but the whole of Earth from the tyranny that's been forced on you. I know many of you are scared, and maybe even not have the will to fight, but I have seen the best of you. The Black Knights are all human, no different from any of you, and have chosen to take a stand alongside my fellow Autobots and fight for their right to live free, a right that you all share with them. I am not asking you to fight, if you believe you are unable to, that is fine. We will see to it that each of you is properly taken care of."
As everyone looked to the leader of the Autobots in awe, a white Geass sigil appeared in Optimus' blue optics as he spoke. "If it's freedom you want, be it freedom to fight for your home, or to simply live in peace, I encourage you to come with us. We will invite you to join our cause!"
Once those words reached each of their ears, virtually everyone present, every man, woman, and child; even the three former Student Council members, and even Guilford himself, all had white rings form in their eyes as they felt their spirits lift and began to stand up on their feet; almost as if the spark of hope has just ignited a fire inside each and every one of them.
"Yeah! Let's go! I want to fight!"
"Let us follow Zero and Optimus Prime!"
"They're here to save us!"
"I might not want to fight, but my children deserve to live in peace!"
Both Cera and Lelouch looked toward the last Prime with unsurprised and impressed smiles.
'Even before receiving his power, Optimus has always been able to touch the hearts and minds of those around him, myself included.' Lelouch thought. 'And that's exactly what his Geass does. He does not control people against their will, but rather reignites their hope. It's the exact opposite of Megatron's power.'
'The Prime Geass of Absolute Conviction.' Cera thought. 'My power combined through the Matrix has granted a power that I never thought could be possible with Geass: the power to inspire hope. Nobody is controlled, they know exactly what they're doing, their spirits are just raised, and that can make a world of difference.'
"T-AI, we need a Groundbridge at our location." Optimus Prime contacted the Ark. "We have over a million human prisoners that need food, water, and medical attention."
"Only a million?" T-AI asked in a joking fashion. "We'll still have plenty of food and space to spare."
A Groundbridge portal then opened as Optimus, Zero, and Cera began to escort all the people to safety.
The Ark
Within a large laboratory, which was built for both Autobot and human personal, a group of human scientists consisting of Lloyd Asplund, Rakshata Chawla, Cecile Croomy, and a relatively new member by the name of Ganabati, a large middle-aged bearded man of Indian decent, all watched from multiple screens as they saw the battles taking place all across the Fuji mines.
"Oh my, look at the Decepticons fall." Lloyd said casually. "I'd say we did rather impressive work in just a short time span of six months."
"What do you expect?" Rakshata asked in a similarly care-free tone. "There's literally nothing else to do here. No fighting, no worrying of racial or noble status… honestly I'm actually grateful that the Decepticons decided to send Earth into a living hell."
"You make it all sound so horrible." Cecile said. "Still, we can't take all the credit. Most of it goes to Ratchet and Preceptor."
"Yes, finally we get full access to good old Cybertronian technology." Lloyd said with a grin. "And the fact that most of this came from us taking apart the Harbinger and using it to help but the Ark back together."
"Bet you're happy about that, aren't you?" Ganabati smirked toward Lloyd. "Considering the Cons double-crossed you and your Empire; it's like revenge for you is, isn't it?"
"I'm not one to take things personally for stuff like that." Lloyd shrugged. "But, if you do believe in karma or stuff like that, I'd say that us stealing from the Decepticons to build our own forces could count as that. So I guess revenge is pretty sweet." He finished with a grin.
"I myself am more impressed by our five masterpieces." Rakshata said, referring to the Knightmares piloted by Zero, Kallen, Suzaku, Rai, and Ohgi. "The Shinkiro, the Guren of Eight Elements, the Raiden, the Gawain Nerion, and the Lancelot Albion. The five most powerful Knightmares in the world, bet they can even give the likes of Soundwave and Megatron some trouble."
"Well considering they were made from those Protoforms we found in the Harbinger, it only makes sense." Cecile commented. "Still, I'm not comfortable with using what was supposed to be a living Cybertronian to build weapons of mass destruction."
"Even Ratchet said it would be alright." Lloyd responded. "Besides, we're at war, and a war is the last place you'd want to raise a baby, even a baby alien robot, right?"
"My thoughts exactly." Rakshata agreed.
Mt. Fuji
A stone wall collapsed as the Wreckers all piled into what appeared to be the largest untouched Energon reserve in the entire mountain. Blue crystals appeared to stretch for miles on end as all the Autobots and Knightmares stepped into the cavern.
"That's a whole lot of raw Energon." Bulkhead looked in awe.
"Yeah, over two hundred armies' worth." Chromia added.
"Is that a lot?" Grindcore asked.
"Enough to level this entire mountain." Wheeljack said. "And then some."
"I can't imagine anyone who's not gonna see something like this." Hot Shot commented
"So… we're really gonna do this?" Nonette asked. "I know I probably have no room to talk since I'm Britannian and we all know what Britannia tried to do to this place…"
"Better this than let Buckethead do what he wants with it." Tamaki said with a slight scowl.
"Yeah, I agree." Even Rai nodded. "Let's send the Decepticons a message with this… no matter what, we will not yield to them!"
"Alright! Let's blow this damn thing up!" Warpath shouted.
"You heard the rookie, Wreckers." Ironhide told the group. "Get the bombs all set up."
"EYY YOO, how in the name of Primus did this entire mine get taken?!" Thunderhoof exclaimed as he shook a Vehicon by the shoulders. "And why ain't we got communications back up?!"
"I… I don't know sir…"
"Thunderhoof, all the Autobots are retreating, and they took the humans with them!" Another Vehicon stated.
"Good riddance!" Thunderhoof spat in disgust. "I'll just find more Meatbags to fill the missing spots. This world's got plenty of em."
"Uh… sir… we have a problem…" The first Vehicon shook with fear
"What now?!"
"The Autobots… they… they rigged the mine to explode…"
Thunderhoof's face turned blank for a moment. "Saywha?"
"The… the bottom of the mine's deposit… it's lined with explosives…" The Vehicon brought up the chamber the Wreckers were previously in, on screen, to show that the entire place was lined with bombs ready to go off.
"OUTTA MY WAY!" Thunderhoof made a break for it toward the exit. "I ain't staying for no fireworks!" Right as he left, his two Vehicon companions also screamed as they tried to catch up and escape.
The Ark
Everyone from the Mt. Fuji mission had returned, be they Autobot or Black Knight, and most of them were helping all the liberated slaves get to the medical center as Lelouch, Optimus, and Cera all stood on the bridge, with Lelouch holding the trigger in his hands.
"So… this is it." Lelouch said with a slight gulp. "There's no turning back after this."
"I doubt anyone would want to go back at this point." Cera pointed out.
"Agreed, there is only one direction we must take, and that is forward." Optimus added. "I regret what we must do here, but it is necessary. We cannot allow such power to fall into Megatron's hands."
Lelouch understood, he remembered Kirihara's words quite well. "Megatron has already destroyed Mount Fuji, it's nothing more than an empty husk now. I'd rather see it as a pile of rubble, a symbol of our resistance, then continue to watch it defiled at the hands of those vile Decepticons!"
"Cliffjumper… Dreadwing… and all those who died fighting for the cause that we fight for now…" Lelouch muttered as a serious and determined expression formed on his face. "I swear, your deaths will not be in vain. Hope begins now!" He pressed down on the trigger.
Multiple explosions erupted all across the base of Mount Fuji, before the entire mountain began to implode and collapse inward. The Wreckers had placed the correct number of explosives in the right spot to ensure that the mountain would not explode directly outward and hurt any people that might still be in the area, but rather have the entire mountain fall in on itself, which is exactly what was happening this very moment.
Thunderhoof drove in his vehicle mode as fast as he could to try and get to the exit, but the ground under him began to collapse just before he made it to the exit. The Decepticon crime-boss turned slave-owner gave a scream as he was buried alive as Mount Fuji finished its destructive collapse.
North American Continent – New Kaon – Darkmount
Soundwave had just finished delivering his report to the Decepticon leader, who sat in his throne that was perched at the very top of his fortress.
"Excellent work, Soundwave." Megatron congratulated. "When we stormed the Iacon Hall of Records in the waning days of the War for Cybertron, we acquired highly classified files written with Autobot codes, which we've been unable to decipher… until now." Megatron chuckled. "You never cease to surprise me, my friend."
Soundwave nodded as his visor lit up to show a three-dimensional image of Earth, with three specific locations pinged.
"Coordinates." Megatron observed. "Iacon was the Autobot's greatest stronghold, one built to protect certain artifacts… or even confiscated weapons…. Which were launched to this planet for safekeeping as a last resort should Iacon fall, which I saw to personally." He snickered. "So, you've only decoded three entries? Am I to assume there are more that you have yet to decode?"
Soundwave nodded again confirmation.
"Good. I can only wonder what lost weapons we'll be reunited with, or what other artifacts the Autobots have fought so desperately to hide from us." Megatron could barely contain his evil jubilation.
"Lord Megatron!" Starscream ran towards the throne with Thundercracker and Skywarp by his side. "Mount Fuji in Area 11…! It has… been destroyed!"
Megatron rose from his throne as he glanced at the Seeker. "Is that so?"
"It's true, Lord Megatron." Skywarp reported. "We've just received the alert!"
"Mount Fuji was among our largest supplies of Energon on this planet." Megatron said in a somewhat skeptic tone. "How is it I'm only hearing of its destruction now? We should have gotten an alert that it had been attacked sooner!"
"We… we don't know." Thundercracker said. "Something…. Blocked all communications from the mines."
"Could it be the Autobots?" Starscream wondered.
"Most likely." Megatron deduced. "Britannia has been wasted away to nothing; Euro Britannia and the E.U. currently remain in conflict with one another, and the Schneizel is still negotiating with the Chinese Federation under Soundwave's observations. No other force is capable of something like this. I suppose it was only a matter of time before Optimus showed his face again. Now I…"
However, Soundwave's visor lit up as it seemed to pick up a strange signal, something that caught the interest of his leader and the Seekers.
"A broadcast?" Thundercracker asked in surprise. "From who? Where?"
"Patch it through." Megatron ordered as Soundwave shined a hologram from his chest to show a three-dimensional screen in front of himself and his fellow Decepticons, which at first appeared like static. However, there was a certain figure in the center that caused the Seekers to look in shock.
"Wait… is that…?" Skywarp muttered.
The holographic footage cleared up to reveal a masked and robbed individual they all recognized instantly. "I am… Zero!"
"WHAT?!" Megatron exclaimed, almost complete losing his composure as the Seekers stumbled back, even Soundwave was caught off-guard.
"People of Earth… we have returned!" The footage zoomed out to show Optimus Prime as well, with Zero standing on his shoulder.
"Zero and Prime!?" Starscream shouted, not even bothering to hide his fear. "It cannot be…!"
"Zero…? I… I thought he was dead!" Skywarp exclaimed.
"You killed him…! We saw you do it, Lord Megatron!" Thundercracker also exclaimed as the Decepticon leader scowled while they continued to watch the broadcast.
"Hear us, Decepticons! All of you who have power, head our words carefully!" Zero began. "We are burdened by sorrow! War and discrimination! Malicious deeds carried out by the strong…. Britannia may be gone, but the world has not changed! The people still suffer! That is why the resurrection of the revolution is necessary!"
"The Autobots and the Black Knights live!" Optimus continued. "During our absence, our forces have grown! We apologize for not being there as the Decepticons have shaken this world to its core, but now we are ready to face them! The strong will no longer oppress the weak! It begins today, with the liberation of the United States of Japan!"
"Trace the signal, Soundwave!" Starscream ordered, but it appeared Soundwave was already on it as his visor showed signals being crisscrossed all over the planet.
"This broadcast is on all frequencies!" Thundercracker exclaimed. "Everyone on the planet is seeing it! Even our own forces! They all know!"
"It's gotta be a fake though… there's no way that's the real Zero!" Skywarp stated. "He's just a human! A human can't survive what Megatron did to him!"
However, Soundwave had ran Zero's voice from the broadcast based on older recordings from six months ago, and even did the same with that of Lelouch vi Britannia outside his Zero attire to make absolutely certain. It was a one hundred percent match.
"It is Zero! The real one!" Megatron scowled. 'How could he have survived my Dark Geass?! Optimus was able to overcome it, but that was likely through the Matrix!' Megatron's optics widened. 'Did Optimus somehow share his power with Lelouch?!'
It was true that the broadcast was shown all over the world, even the Decepticon forces that occupied the various conquered areas were seeing the message that Optimus Prime and Zero were currently delivering. Even Shockwave and V.V. in the Geass Order's base were seeing it.
"We shall fight against all those who abuse their power!" Zero continued.
V.V. scowled as he glared with all the hate that he could muster at the two figures, while Shockwave still maintained his stoic expression but was nonetheless surprised to see that Zero was alive, even having been fully exposed to Megatron's Dark Geass.
"It defies logic…" Shockwave said.
'How can Lelouch still be alive?!' The livid V.V. thought to himself. 'Why is he still alive?! He has no right to live! How dare you, Lelouch! How dare you continue to live when you shouldn't! You and that wretched Optimus Prime!'
"Once again, here and now, we hereby declare war on the Decepticon regime that wrongfully and unjustly occupies this planet!" Optimus declared.
Everyone in the E.U. as well as Euro Britannia watched the broadcast, from those who lived peacefully in their homes, to people in the military within their bases, and even the highest politics who continued to watch with interest. Even those currently in hiding such as Marrybell and her Glynda Knights.
Those in the Chinese Federation watched as well, including all the High Eunuchs, as well as the young Empress and her closest companion, Li Xingke. He exchanged a brief look with the young figurehead as he gave a small smile and a wink.
'So, they finally made their move.'
"We now direct this message to the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron himself!" Zero stated. "You can torture us, bomb us, threaten to burn our homes and nations to the ground, but you will not break the will of humanity! Our army will continue to grow, and we will not stop till you and your forces either leave this planet now and forever or are brought down by our blade!"
"Dramatic as always, but he wouldn't be Zero if he weren't." Kaguya smiled as she, Nunnally, Sayoko, and Euphemia all sat in the room that Nunnally shared with her brother, while watching the broadcast from a television screen.
Euphemia petted Arthur on her lap while also holding hands with her younger half-sister, who also held her other hand with bodyguard, Sayoko.
"To the people of Earth who are oppressed, and who also wish to take a stand, we invite you to join us, to join the Autobot-Black Knight Alliance and fight for the freedom of all sentient beings!" Optimus continued. "Whatever differences in race, gender, ideology, even species no longer matter once you are a part of this coalition, your only requirement is to fight for what is just!"
Even those within the Ark watched the broadcast, such as their fellow Autobots and Black Knights, and even rescued citizens. Among them was the intelligence group consisting of the other heads of Kyoto like Kirihara, Diethard Ried, who looked every bit as fanatically excited as one would expect, and even the mysterious Miss X who served in intelligence when part of Peace Mark.
"And so… it begins." Kirihara said with a smirk.
With that, the broadcast came to an end, leaving Megatron at Dark Mount boiling with rage. None of the Seekers or Soundwave dared to move or speak, or else risk invoking his wrath.
"So… it's war then is it?" Megatron began. "So be it. I will see to their deaths personally this time. Soundwave! Supply me the first of those Iacon coordinates!" He ordered his communications officer. "Starscream, assemble your Seekers, the Combaticons, Squadron X, and any other Decepticon currently not on a mission! Deploy the Nemesis for Area 11 immediately!"
"Y… Yes, my liege!" Starscream bowed with his fellow Decepticons before they left, leaving their vivid leader alone.
"I don't know how you survived, Lelouch." Megatron began as his Dark Geass flared to life. "But I'll make you wish you hadn't! And Optimus will rue the day he came to this planet!"
Mount Fuji… or what was left of it, was nothing more than a ginormous pile of rubble that was more than half the height of the mountain that once stood, with a gaping hole at the very top. One could say it was a tragedy, which it was in a way, but at the same time, it was also a symbol of hope and rebellion.
However, it was also a sight of such destruction that nobody would ever think that any life could have survived the collapse of the mighty mountain. However, there was still movement at a small spot along the southern end of the collapsed slope. Something underneath a pile of rubble tried to move and push the debris out of the way as a large shadow loomed over it. An outside force began to pull the rubble away to reveal what was underneath it.
It was Thunderhoof, who had just barely escaped the worst of the mountain's collapse, but still looked more than a little worse for wear as he tried to pull himself out.
"Need a hand, brother?" A new voice asked as what appeared to be a Cybertronian offered his hand to Thunderhoof, who accepted it and was helped out of the rubble. Thunderhoof almost lost his footing but was able to stabilize himself.
"Thanks man…" However, Thunderhoof was caught by surprise when the individual who helped him also clawed at the Decepticon insignia on his chest, leaving a scar. "EYY YOO!"
"My apologies." The individual said in a seemingly sincere tone, who was revealed to be a silver Decepticon with yellow eyes, claws, and a wolf-like motif. He also bore a set of Decepticon insignias on his shoulders, but like with Thunderhoof, there was a three-clawed scratch on them. "The pain is temporary, and you'll soon come to understand, necessary. In the meantime, I can tell you've been through quite the rough patch."
"That's an understatement." Thunderhoof said with a scowl. "I was the head-honcho of this backwater planet's biggest Energon supply, now it's all rubble! Ugh, Megatron's gonna file my antlers when he's through with me!"
"Well, I can help you get a chance at redemption, along with a possibly higher place in the Decepticon pecking order." The mysterious Decepticon offered. "That, as well as the chance for revenge. I already have someone with me who is just itching for vengeance herself, which is to be expected considering she lost an arm and an eye to those Autobots and their human allies some time ago. You want revenge, redemption, and more power? Then stick with me, and I'll grant it all to you and then some."
"If we're talking business, I gotta at least now your name." Thunderhoof said before a smirk fell on his face. "But I'm definitely interested."
"Glad to hear it. As for my name… Call me Steeljaw."
Done.
And so, the Revolution begins!
Our cast has expanded considerably on both the heroes' and villains' sides! On the side of good, Peace Mark has officially joined with the Black Knights, which gives them and the Autobots plenty of underground connections across the world! We are also introduced to plenty of new Autobots as well. The Zero Squad is now led by Elita One (JPL-Animation on Deviantart for an image), and are joined by Suzaku, Sideswipe, and Orpheus Zevon. Ultra Magnus has also arrived and leads the Elite Guard along with Strongarm, Smokescreen, Jazz, Prowl, and Undertone. Ironhide now leads the Wreckers who are joined by Chromia, Warpath, Hot Shot, and Grindcore (2015 RID Grimlock). The new Black Dragon unit consists of Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords, Zi Dien (also from Peace Mark), as well as Drift with Jetstorm and Safeguard (2015 RID Slipstream). Preceptor is also part of the science division, and we even have the Aerial Bots Jetfire, Silverbolt, Air Raid, and Wind Blade.
Note: I changed the RID version of Grimlock, because it was stated how this Grimlock was a separate character from the FOC version of the Dinobot leader. So, I changed his name to avoid confusion, and he is also no longer a Dinobot, but instead a Wrecker who can transform into a Monster Truck with a dinosaur-motif. But despite the change in name (and type of Transformer), he's still the same punch-happy, overall friendly guy we all know and love. (I just don't like how in the RID show they tried to make him into Grimlock even though he acts COMPLETLEY different from the one we know from "Fall of Cybertron")
I also did the same for Safeguard/Slipstream, because we already have a Decepticon female Seeker of the same name, so this is also to avoid confusion.
(Don't worry, like I said in R1, I will introduce the true Dinobots, and their leader Grimlock, later on in this story. You'll see)
Also, from the heroes' perspective, the Ark is now starting to become fully operational (you'll learn the full status of it in the next chapter), and now has a new artificial intelligence, T-AI, the 'daughter' of Teletraan 1 (based loosely off the one from "Robots in Disguise" 2001). And already, the Black Knights have the Lancelot Albion, Guren Eight Elements, and Shinkiro, with new Knightmares such as the Gawain Nerion and even my own original Knightmare, the Raiden, for Rai. These Knightmares are made from the Protoforms that were found in the Harbinger, which was reverse engineered to repair the Ark. So, they're actually more powerful than the cannon versions as they have a few more tricks up their sleeves which I plan to show you.
One last thing: not only does Lelouch appear to have full control of his Geass, we also know what Optimus' power is: the Prime Geass of Absolute Conviction.
And not only that, it seems Nunnally is able to walk again! Though it's through the aid of special leg-braces made with Cybertronian technology (think similar to Rhodey from the MCU), you'll get a full explanation in the next chapter, I promise.
From the Decepticon perspective, they've all but destroyed Britannia with most of the royal family either dead or under their control (save for those with the Black Knights, and even Marrybell). They've also recruited significantly with the Constructicons (who will remain to guard New Kaon for the most part), the Combaticons, more Insecticons (Scorponok, Glowstrike, and Saberhorn), and even Squadron X (their version of the Wreckers) consisting of Barricade (their leader), Demolisher, Groundpounder (and Headlock), Blackout, Quake, Overload, and even Lugnut and Blitzwing. I also brought in Sky-Byte as a fan favorite (who is both a strong and competent warrior (like in "Cyberverse"), but is actually a pretty good guy too (like in RID 2001)). And let us not forget Steeljaw, who has begun building his Pack.
Of course, you can expect to see plenty more Decepticons as the story guess around.
One thing I'm sure you all noticed, I brought in Transformers elements not from the Aligned Continuity (T-AI, Blitzwing, and Sky-Byte), even though I said this was based strictly in the Aligned Continuity of Transformers. Well, these are all fan favorites that I went ahead and put in, but they each have their own slightly changed origins that will help them better fit into this story. I even added Dr. Arkeville from G1. With Lloyd now working with the Autobots, I wanted to give the Decepticons an evil human scientist, and this was something a friend suggested (rest assured, I plan to give him a proper origin of the Code Geass variety). He seemed to fit the build and he's definitely going to cause the heroes some trouble.
I also decided to throw in characters and elements from "The Nightmare of Nunnally", even though I said I wouldn't. I actually had this other idea I planned to involve undead Knights of the Round, but I decided to scrap the idea and do this instead, it only seemed to fit better with my story. You can expect to see other characters and elements from that manga in this story, we've already seen Lelouch in a new Zero outfit that is of similar design to that of the manga (just no superpowers or anything like that).
As you can see, I have a lot of characters already, and even more coming along the way. But rest assured, while there are others who will receive more attention than others (Optimus, Lelouch, Megatron, Suzaku, Kallen, Bumblebee, Nunnally, etc.), I plan to give plenty of these characters proper development; but (slight spoiler), quite a few are going to die (mostly villains, but there will be some casualties on the heroes' side, after all it is a war story).
So, what's next for our heroes now that the revolution has begun? Find out in the next chapter relatively soon. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Transform and Roll out!